Broken Rules
by Writegirl
Summary: NejiHinata pairing. Everything ends, even love. CHAPTER 14 BRAND SPANKING NEW! FINALLY COMPLETE :
1. Default Chapter

Title: Broken Rules

Pairing: **Neji/Hinata PLEASE NOTE THE PAIRING. IF THE THOUGHT OF THESE TWO TOGETHER OFFENDS YOU IN ANY WAY, PLEASE STOP READING.**

Fandom: Naruto

Summary: No one chooses who to love, and fate can be crueler to some than others. Takes place a year after the current manga timeline.

He remembered the first time.

Hot skin and tentative kisses. Too eager hands and swishing cloth. Tree bark beneath his knuckles as he held her head in place. The silk of her thighs as her legs wrapped around his waist. Soft, hitching moans as he pushed into her; gently at first, then harder and faster as they both lost control. Salty tears teasing his lips as he kissed her one last time. That had been the first time.

He never meant for there to be a second.

There had been though. A second, and a third, and so many others that he couldn't keep track anymore. Each time he said it would be the last, and she would nod her head in agreement. Each time he would be so sure they would stop. Then days later, once barely two hours later, they would be together, her face buried in his shoulder, him biting his lip to keep from shouting as he pounded into her.

Neji turned his head and leaned up on his elbows to stare at the girl next to him. Hinata was sleeping soundly, curled up on her side. It never failed to amaze him how much like a child she looked as she slept, one hand curled under her head, the other almost touching her nose. The thin blanket that covered them rode low on her hip, revealing the curve of her breast. Outside fireworks lit up the sky as the New Years festival continued in full swing. He could hear people shouting, the crackle of smaller fireworks, and felt an emptiness claw at his chest. They should be down with everyone else celebrating the New Year, not using henge to sneak away and have a quick fuck.

Hinata flinched as a loud firework went off closer to their room, and without thinking Neji reached up and closed the window. Hinata sighed and scooted until her back touched his chest, then settled back into sleep. Taking one last look outside, Neji curved around her, wrapping an arm around her waist. They could afford another hour together before they had to leave.

"So, Neji. Who was she?"

The silver eyed boy looked up. He and his team were taking a small break during their training. Now that Lee was able to move around freely again he insisted on training longer and harder than ever, something that Gai agreed with wholeheartedly. It was almost mid-afternoon, and they had been playing a modified game of tag with the jounin all morning. At the moment Lee was smiling at him, a smile that spoke of a shared secret. It was the kind of smile that drove the other boy insane. "Who?"

Lee looked around before leaning in and whispering. "The girl you took to your room last night. Kiba said he saw you and some girl break away from the celebrations and head toward your place."

"Yeah, Neji," Tenten chimed in, smirking as she balanced a throwing star on her finger. "Who'd of thought you'd get lucky?"

A sick, falling feeling went through Neji, but he kept anything from showing on his face. "I showed a young woman where the best hotel was for what she was willing to pay, Lee."

Rock Lee leaned back. "And that happened to be in _your _building?"

Tenten giggled.

Almost carelessly, Neji flicked the kunai he was holding towards the target twenty yards away. It hit just left of the center. "And if it was?" he let just the barest hint of anger tinge his voice.

The slight smirk on Tenten's face faded, and she narrowed her eyes. It was a look Neji knew well, the look she wore when tracking a moving target.

"It's fine, Neji. Kiba just wanted to know if I knew anything. He didn't recognize her. I was hurt that you were seeing someone and didn't think to tell your own teammate." The boy looked near tears.

"It's none of your business," Neji answered, striding away from the practice area. He needed to have a small talk with Kiba.

"Neji!"

The boy started. Gai was supposed to leave them to train the rest of the afternoon alone after they managed to get his flag, not pop up just when he needed to get away. "Yes, Gai-sensei?" he asked, not turning around. It was an insult to do so, he knew, but at the moment he didn't care. He felt Gai move closer, and was surprised when a hand came down on his shoulder. Their sensei wasn't one to take insults lightly.

"Don't worry about their questions, Neji," Gai said gently. "I'm pleased that you've found someone to help heal your wounded heart."

As he was pulled into his teacher's embrace Neji could feel the vein in his forehead begin to pulse. Why was it his fate to be stuck with two overly emotional shinobi? He didn't need to look up to know that tears were streaming down the other man's face. "Thank you, Gai-sensei," he said, trying to free himself from his teacher's grasp. "But you've made a mistake, there's-"

"Say no more," the older man interrupted, pushing his student to arm's length. "I'll deal with Lee and Tenten. You must take these things at your own pace."

Hyuga Neji stared, dumbfounded, as Gai walked back to his two teammates, shouting orders for them to continue with their training. _That's it, that was the last time,_ he thought as he headed back to Konoha. They had almost been caught. What if Kiba had been close enough to smell that the person with him had been Hinata? Death was the least of the things he had to worry about if they were ever found out.

"So, Hinata. How's Neji?"

Hinata kept her head down as she searched for flowers for her sister. "Why do you ask, Ino-san?"

The blond girl lowered her voice. "I mean, you've been training with him for a few months now. News is that he's found someone. Know anything?"

Hinata shook her head, a blush stealing across her pale cheeks. "Neji-nisan's said nothing to me. Who told you?"

Ino looked shocked. "Kiba didn't tell you? He saw Neji and some girl going into Neji's place last night, sneaking away during the festival." She sighed and fingered a hyacinth bloom. "Too bad. Neji's kinda cute." She frowned, remembering the one time she tried to use her sexiness on the older boy. Him telling her to get lost still stung.

"I'll ask him, Ino-san" Hinata said, picking up a pot. "I think Hanabi will like these."

"Sweet peas?" Ino shook her head. "Why don't you give her a bouquet? She wont want to look after those after a week, and they'll be dead inside two."

The dark haired girl blushed. "They remind me of her, kind of."

"Well, it's the thought that counts, right? I'll just ring them up…"

Hinata stopped listening as she followed Ino to the cash register. Someone had seen them yesterday. She would have to tell him about it, if he didn't already know. Kiba could be a bigger gossip than Ino if he thought something was worth gossiping about. Even if no one recognized her - and she was sure Kiba hadn't, else he would have been at her door at first light - it was becoming too dangerous for them. People would be looking at Neji now, trying to figure out who had caught his attention.

"Neji-san," she said to herself, hands clenched around the potted plant.

Her walk back to the Hyuga compound was a blur. When Neji found out, they would have to stop. He would insist on it. She was grateful for it. They had tried so many times to stop themselves, but it never worked. They swore on it, promised each other, even avoided each other, but sooner or later one of them would break.

The fact that it wasn't always her was a point of pride.

Before she knew it Hinata was sitting on her futon, her sister's gift still clutched in her hands. She set it on the window sill, sure that Hanabi wouldn't notice it. Hinata's room was in the back of the main family house , away from the noise and bustle, a fact for which she was grateful. The quiet was soothing, the small stream that flowed through the Hyuga gardens the only real sound other than the calls of birds. Sighing, Hinata laid down and remembered how everything had started.

_"Oto-san?"_

_Hiashi's expression didn't change. "You heard me, Hinata. Neji has shown mastery of the Hyuga techniques, a mastery that you lack. As such, you will train with him until you are where you should be."_

_Hinata flinched away from the harshness of her father's words. "Hai, to-san."_

_She was behind in her learning, far behind. She had tried to teach herself, watching her father and cousins as they trained, practicing in the late hours of the night, but that hadn't helped her very much. Without someone to explain what she was doing, everything felt…wrong. She would hesitate when she should press ahead, aim for one area when she should go after another._

_"You are to start immediately. I expect improvement from her, Neji. I will accept nothing else."_

_"As you wish, Hiashi-sama," Neji answered, bowing deeply before his uncle before turning away._

_Hinata gave one last glance at her father, eyes skipping to her sister sitting calmly in a corner. Hyuga Hiashi had long since given up on training his eldest daughter. For the barest instant she felt a flash of white hot rage for them both, slapping it down the moment she recognized it for what it was. How could she feel that way about her father and sister? Hanabi was everything he wanted in an heir with the exception of her sex. She was strong where Hinata was weak, bold where she was timid. It was no surprise that he wanted to spend his time with the more promising of them._

_"Hinata-sama, we have much to do."_

_The girl jumped and spun around, but not before seeing the tightening of her father's eyes at her reaction to Neji's voice. Weak, his eyes seemed to say._

_She followed Neji out of the dojo, and was surprised when they left the compound all together._

_"Neji-nisan, where-"_

_"Do not ask questions, Hinata-sama. You will see when we arrive."_

_Without warning Neji leapt into a tree, leaving her behind. As quickly as she could Hinata followed. By the time they stopped she was winded. It had taken her a full minute to catch up._

_"First position: Beckoning Hands!"  
The order was shouted almost before she came to a full stop. Without thought she entered the first stance, stumbling slightly as her foot caught a rock._

_"First strike!"_

_The following hours were the hardest Hinata had known. Neji was relentless, moving her from stance to stance, mixing their order. Halfway through a kata he would shout a change. If she stumbled he would pull her up by her shirt and shove her back into position. He was every bit as harsh as her father. Finally she stumbled and fell, heart hammering._

_"Get up, Hinata-sama."_

_She struggled to her knees, arms shaking, muscles strained. Two sandals appeared in front of her._

_"You are weak."_

_No, no I'm not! The words died in her throat._

_"You wanted to prove to me that people could change, yet after half a year you have not improved." The sandals moved out of her vision. "How many hours have you spent practicing, to have nothing but this to show for it?" He moved to her side. "If I were to kick you now, you'd be unable to defend yourself."_

_The blow when it came was light, but it was enough to send her crashing back to her stomach. Hot tears filled her eyes. Her father had done much the same thing, put her through the same torture, before declaring her a failure._

_"Are you going to give up now?" The sandals were back in front of her._

_She didn't answer._

_"Hiashi-sama wants you to give up, so he can truly wash his hands of you," the boy continued, almost conversationally. "Hanabi is improving greatly, almost beyond his expectations. Her byakugan is more advanced than yours. She is already learning the Divination Wheel. "_

_The tears spilled down Hinata's cheek's, dripping into the grass. He was cruel, she'd always known that. Neji delighted in hurting her, in finding ways to give her pain. He had since they were little._

_A hand fisted in her short hair, pulling her head up. Neji was squatting in front of her, his face expressionless. "If you don't get up now, you prove them right. You prove that you are nothing, that you are weak, unable to head the Hyuga family. You prove that Kurenai-sama was wrong to help you, and Naruto was wrong to believe in you. You prove that you don't believe in yourself. Get up now, or don't get up at all."_

_He released her like he was dropping a soiled rag and walked away. Hinata stared at the ground beneath her. Each of his words cut into her like a sword. Anger began to fill her. Naruto wasn't wrong to believe in her, neither was Kurenai-sensei. She wasn't weak, wasn't useless, and how dare he say otherwise. Nothing gave him the right to speak to her, to anyone, that way._

_Slowly, Hinata rose to her knees and began climbing to her feet. Once there she entered Eighth Position, left hand extended in front of her, her right arm bent at the elbow, hand hovering near her heart. Blooming Jasmine, a stance for killing despite it's name. I am not weak._

_Neji watched her without moving. Slowly but deliberately she picked up where she left off, forcing her legs to stop trembling. She would prove them wrong. Naruto-kun saw something in her, believed in her, and she would not let him down._

_"Enough, Hinata-sama."_

_The words, spoken so close to her, made her stumble. Hands caught and steadied her. "Ne-neji-nisan?" she asked. Her cousin was looking at her in a way she'd never seen before. He looked almost…pleased._

_They returned to the Hyuga compound to find Hiashi waiting for them. With a bow Hinata walked past her father, hearing the terse "well" he said to Neji before she was out of earshot._

_That was how they continued for nearly three weeks. Neji would take her from the Hyuga compound, sometimes in the dead of night, and drill her for hours without rest. He pushed her until she was at her limit, then demand more. He never lost patience like her father would, never scoffed at her when she fell and ask how he had spawned such a weak child._

_And she improved. A little at first. She would be more sure-footed, better able to keep up with Kiba and Shino. She was faster when they sparred, more aware of herself. Her control over the byakugan improved in leaps and bounds._

That was how it started.


	2. Caught

Neji lashed out at the shadow clones attacking him. Eight dotted the clearing around him, waiting for the chance to strike. The lessons from his genin days came back to him, taunting him. He could hear Iruka-sensei whipsering that a ninja did not strike out in anger.He and Kiba had a small talk earlier about the importance of privacy. The smugness of the other boy had been unbearable, no doubt joy at being able to show everyone that Neji, the fast-rising jounin, was human after all. A fact it seemed he shared with anyone who would listen. Just walking through the village Neji had felt more eyes on him than usual, and more than once groups of women had stopped talking when he passed by only to start up again excitedly when they thought he was out of earshot.

A swift combination of blows dealt with two of the shadow clones. He turned to face a third and felt a presence, almost like a hand brushing his shoulder. Hinata was watching him from the tree line, thirty feet to his left. It was a side effect of their being together, he thought, this newfound ability to feel her presence. It didn't matter if he saw her or not, he just _knew. _It was a tension, an urgency, that he'd never had before. There had been times not too long ago when only a chance turn let him know he was being watched at all.

When she wanted to be, the Hyuuga heir was nearly invisible. She was so unthreatening that for most people she faded into the background. Once she managed to integrate that talent with her ninjutsu she would be a formidable ninja, but for the moment she only used it with one of her favorite past times spying.

She didn't consider it spying, though. She saw it as just watching people, observing them when they didn't think anyone was paying attention. The information she'd gathered on different people was startling. Who knew that Gai, despite all his strength, limped when no one was around? That Asuma had tried to quit smoking no less than four times because his girlfriend complained about his cigarette breath? She'd even managed to catch a glimpse of Kakashi without his mask, though she refused to tell him what she saw.

The dark-haired nin stopped his kata facing away from her, letting his hands fall to his sides. The remaining clones disappeared in puffs of smoke. "Hinata-sama."

"Neji-nisan." She crept from behind the tree until she was standing in the open. There were times when he thought she would never become outgoing, that she would always be the timid Hinata he'd grown up with. At others, she seemed a different person entirely.

Usually when they were tearing each other's clothes off.

"Neji?"

"We were seen," he said, walking towards her.

Crimson crept into his cousin's cheeks. "No one recognized me." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Neji stopped just short of her. "This time, Hinata." He wanted to touch her, to caress her cheek, but forced himself not to. Touching her would not be the best of things at the moment.

Hinata looked up quickly. "We have to stop." Her voice was confident now.

Neji nodded in agreement. "I've asked Hiashi-sama to take over your training."

His cousin's heard jerked up, white eyes full of surprise. "But-"

"You are far enough along that he should find no fault with you. He will be a better teacher for you. He can show you skills that I have yet to master." _And as long as I'm not near you, I wont be tempted to touch you. _

"We can still train together, without… we wont…" she shook her head. "I learn best with you!"

"And could bring shame down on our family."

Hinata's eyes hardened. "We would both be to blame."

Neji didn't answer. They had never tried stopping the training, only the sex. Perhaps now they would be able to keep away from each other. He looked at his cousin. She was flushed, breathing hard in her gathering anger. It had been a surprise, finding that anger. He never would have imagined such rage could exist within such a timid person. An image flashed of the last time her anger erupted. The scratches and bite marks she left on him that day had taken days to heal. "We have to."

The anger inside the girl vanished, leaving her pale. Neji watched as she bowed before him. "Thank you for teaching me, Neji-san." Before he could answer she was gone.

Neji stared where she had been standing for long moments. She wouldn't speak to him for some time, but that was for the best. He didn't think he could bear it otherwise. He hoped that his team would find themselves on a mission that kept them out of Konoha, at least for a week. Just enough to let the raw edge of what he'd done dull. That he felt pain at all angered him. He had put an end to a shameful affair. He should feel relief, release from a terrible obligation. Instead he felt hollow, empty in a way he hadn't known since his father's death. He turned and walked back to the center of the clearing. He raised the number of shadow clones to ten, and began attacking them with a vengeance, trying to clear the memories from his head.

_Neji examined the wound on his stomach as he sat on a stump. His first mission with a jounin team and he managed to get hurt. The mission had been an informal test, a request he'd made to transfer temporarily until his two team mates recovered from injuries. After reviewing his performance, and with a hearty recommendation from Gai, Tsunade agreed. Her addendum that he "not do anything to have the Hyuuga's shouting for her blood" wasn't quite what he expected, but so long as he was on the mission he didn't care._

_The slash wasn't deep, but it wasn't shallow either, the bandage he'd tied around it while they returned to the village already soaked with blood, shining in the moonlight. It was his way of punishing himself, insisting that his wound wasn't serious, depriving himself of medical attention. Genma had laughed at his anger, insisting that no one made it through their first mission without bloodying. It wasn't that he was wounded that truly bothered him._

_It was why._

_The rock nin hadn't been that worthy of an opponent. In fact, any other time Neji wouldn't have had any problem dispatching him. But yesterday his mind hadn't been on his mission. It had been on Hinata. That made the pain that much more necessary. _

_During _obon_ every Hyuuga had to return to the main family compound to celebrate. Each branch family member was allowed to stay as a guest in the main family house, something that happened only twice each year. It was near the end of the week that it happened. He had carelessly walked into a bathroom late at night only to find Hinata naked and wet from her bath._

_He'd had no idea someone so short could have legs so long._

_Embarrassed, he apologized and fled before she could even wrap a towel around herself, not that it would have mattered. He'd already seen every inch of her. The rest of obon had been spent with the two of them staying as far away from each other as possible. Once he overheard Hanabi asking her sister why she was blushing so much during the family gatherings._

_The image was burned into his mind, plaguing him at odd moments, breaking his concentration. That was the only reason the rock nin had gotten under his guard, and he cursed himself for being such a pervert. She was his cousin, and thinking of her in such a way dishonored them both._

_"Neji-nisan?"_

_He turned towards the voice. Hinata was standing there, half-hidden behind one of the trees, watching him as if his thoughts had conjured her from the air. "Hinata-sama."_

_Her eyes focused on the bloodstained bandage wrapped around his middle, and she hurried over, digging in her pockets. Before she reached him she had a small medical kit and a roll of bandages in hand. "You're hurt," was all she said before examining him._

_Neji just sat, watching her work. He often wondered why she didn't try to become a medical nin. She excelled at making ointments that accelerated healing. When he commented on her skill she just ducked her head and blushed._

_"This needs stitches, ni-san," she said, carefully pressing around the wound._

_"I'll be fine." He started to rise. Having her so close to him was making his imagination work overtime. Pervert, he said to himself._

_"I c-could do it," she started, the words fading as she continued. "If you like."_

No_, the more logical part of him argued . _It will heal on it's own, and any scar it leaves will remind you of your carelessness. _That part of him was swiftly overpowered by the majority, a majority that liked Hinata's hands on him. He sat back down. "If you feel it necessary."_

_He watched as she laid out what she needed, making sure everything stayed balanced on the plastic case. He recognized most of the ointments she took out, except for one in a plain brown jar that burned when she applied it, but quickly numbed. Her stitches were small and even. It was finished much faster, and less painfully, than it would have been at the hospital._

_"Thank you," he said when she finished, testing the wound. He would have limited range of motion, but not enough to worry over._

_Hinata smiled at him, and began covering the wound. "You should clean the wound and change the bandage every few hours, especially if it begins to bleed."_

_She was leaning in to get the bandage around his back, her breath fanning against his cheek, breasts just barely brushing against his chest. The whole scene merged with his image of her naked. The image went straight to his groin, and he cursed the fullness beginning to gather there. After another pass she cut the cloth with a kunai and tucked it in just above his navel, the feel of her fingers making his stomach jump. But she didn't back away. Instead she looked at him. For one moment her eyes seemed to swallow him, and he was drowning._

_The sound of rustling leaves made them jump apart. Without thinking he activated his byakugan and scanned the area. Nothing but a pair of squirrels rummaging through the trees. He pulled his shirt on and stood. "Goodnight, Hinata-sama."_

_"G-good night, Neji," she muttered back before scurrying away._

_He watched her go, the only thought in his head how nice his name had sounded without the 'ni-san' attached to it. _

* * *

Hinata sank into the furo, letting the warm water relax her sore muscles. For the past month she had been pushing herself harder than ever. She would begin practicing before dawn and continue until she was to join her team. Each time she struck, she imagined it was Neji. On missions she worked harder, took more active roles. Kurenai had been astonished at her advancement, even more so when she came upon Hinata practically yelling at Kiba about the specifics of a mission. Kiba had been shocked as well, staring at her in open disbelief until she realized what she was doing and ran away nearly in tears.

The depth of her anger frightened her as it always did. She was rarely angry, she just didn't have that kind of disposition. She was too shy, to introverted to act out. The few times she did lose her temper something bad always happened. Once she struck Hanabi. Not a light blow, but a full bodied slap that sent her unbelieving sister to the floor and swelled her cheek for a day and a half. And Neji… the memory of that afternoon was enough to send a blush from her toes to her hairline. It just proved that when she lost her temper she was a different person, a person that she didn't like. All the more reason to keep her timidity wrapped around her like a shield.

The girl sank into the bath until the water lapped at her chin. She rarely saw her cousin anymore, a handful of times since that meeting in the forest. In many ways she was relieved. There was no more shame, no more looking over her shoulder in fear that someone would see something they shouldn't. At the same time she felt empty, as if some part of her were missing. Despite her flare of temper with Kiba, her shyness had come back full force. Looking anyone in the eye was a chore, trying to do so with her father was just short of physical pain. Her feelings confused her, giving her the sinking suspicion that she didn't know herself anymore.

That thought scared her more than anything. When she was with Neji she felt…free. The world wasn't as frightening anymore, people weren't as scary. When he touched her she wasn't Hyuuga Hinata anymore, heir to the noble clan of Konoha. She wasn't clumsy or afraid. She was just herself. Even the first time she had felt that way.

_She winced as the blow glanced off her shoulder. She didn't feel it yet, but in another few seconds the pain would catch up to her. Hinata leapt back, eyeing her opponent. For his part Neji just stood there watching her, not even breathing hard. It irked her that even with all her training she always lost her breath._

_The point of the day's exercise was to knock her cousin off his feet, only that. After twenty minutes she still hadn't managed it. He dodged every punch, saw through every feint and sweep. She had improved greatly over the past four months, but she still wasn't at his level._

_Not yet._

_"Are you ready to give up, Hinata-sama?"_

_She shook her head and ran forward. She _would _knock him down this time, she was sure of it. All she had to do was find a way to get beneath his guard. A part of her, the part that still hid when someone looked directly at her, whispered that she wouldn't be able to. Neji was aware of all his strengths and weaknesses, something she was still finding out. At the same time, he knew all of hers. He never lowered his skill level just to make her feel better. He expected her to rise up to his._

_As they exchanged blows again Hinata had a thought and acted before she lost her nerve. Taking a deep breath, she pretended to strike at his neck. When he dodged she reached, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled back. She expected him to pull away, so she put all her strength into the move._

_Unfortunately for her, he was so surprised that she was _hugging _him that he let his guard down completely. She ended up putting both of them off balance. The two of them fell, Neji landing on top of her._

_"I did it," she said, almost to herself. For the first time she'd gained the upper hand during a fight, and it felt wonderful. Unable to help herself, she laughed breathlessly._

_"Well done, Hinata-sama."_

_The warm words brought her back to reality. Neji was looking at her with pleased surprise. It was a look that brought a warmth to his eyes that never seemed to be there otherwise. This time he even had a ghost of a smile._

_At the same time Hinata became aware of their positions. She was lying on her back, legs bent and feet firmly planted on the ground. Neji was lying between her spread thighs, her arms locked his neck, his hands on either side of her head. She unlocked her fingers and felt smooth hair move into the cracks._

_One moment they were looking at each other, the next they were kissing. Almost chaste kisses at first. Light, quick brushes that deepened without warning. Neji shifted on top of her, settled into the cradle of her thighs and she moaned, allowing him to deepen their kiss even further. She rocked her hips against his, shivering as he groaned deep in his throat. One hand fisted in her hair as he took control of the kiss, the other fumbled at her waist. She arched when his hand encountered bare skin, moaning again, louder, as the hand traveled upwards and cupped one breast. It was too much. "Neji!" the word was ripped from her throat._

_Suddenly that wonderful weight pressing down on her was gone. She opened her eyes to find him kneeling next to her, breathing hard, eyes staring sightlessly at the ground next to her. "Neji?"_

_He flinched away from the hand she placed on his back. She sat up, concerned. "Neji?"_

_He shook his head, and she noticed that his hair was spilling around his shoulders, the tie that held it in place missing. His hand clenched and unclenched in the grass. Before she could say anything else he turned to face her and bowed, forehead resting on his hands. "Forgive me, Hinata-sama."_

_"F-forgive?"_

_He didn't move. "I've forced myself on you, dishonored you." He raised his head to look into her eyes. "I will report to Hiashi-sama immediately for punishment."_

_"No!" Without thinking she threw her arms around her cousin, fearful that he would leave if she said nothing. "Y- you did n-nothing wrong. You didn't force me. I-I wanted you to." the words stumbled over one another so badly she wondered if he understood her at all. The last had been the hardest to admit. Somewhere, in between their training, she'd started to feel something other than friendship with her cousin. The closest thing she could equate it with was how she felt for Naruto before he left with Jaraiya._

_Neji stiffened in her arms, and she felt him pulling away. Unable to think of anything else she leaned down and kissed him. /i _Please, Neji, _she thought, willing him to understand. _I don't want to lose you. i _It seemed an eternity before he began kissing her back, slowly at first as if unsure of what she wanted. She opened to him fully, running her fingers through his hair. The world was spinning out of control. One moment they were kneeling, the next she was beneath him, clothes gone, he just as naked. The urgency was back, burning hotter than before._

_The first press of him against her gave her pause. She had read several books, even had halting discussion with those among her friends who'd already had sex. All of them said it was uncomfortable the first time, a few going so far as to name the discomfort pain. Determined, she closed her eyes and braced herself. She opened them to amused laughter. Neji was looking at her, almost chuckling to himself. What had made her think his eyes were cold? He was looking at her with such intensity and desire that she blushed, her hands moving restlessly on his shoulders. His eyes held hers before he leaned down and kissed her as he pushed inside her. Some of her passion faded as the discomfort bordered on pain, and after long moments he was fully inside her._

_"Hinata." The word was low and hoarse against her cheek. Neji had gone still, every muscle tight and straining._

_It was strange at first, having him inside her. She felt…vulnerable… in a way that had nothing to do with her shyness. As the discomfort eased she shifted her hips, and gasped. Carefully, he pulled out of her, and just as carefully pushed back in. She arched, head thrown back, as the pleasure grew again. They started a slow rhythm. Her eyes were closed, but she could feel him watching her as he began to move faster, harder. She stopped thinking and just _felt. _The silk of his hair as it fell around them, blocking out the rest of the world. The way the muscles of his back and shoulders moved beneath his skin. She was moaning, sobbing, but she didn't care. The pleasure kept rising, building until she thought she would burst. She wrapped a leg around his waist, begging him for more…_

_Neji stiffened above her, eyes squeezed shut and he pushed into her a final time. After a minute he relaxed, his head resting on her shoulder. She realized that he was out of breath, and she giggled. He looked up at the sound and ran a hand so gently over her cheek she barely felt it. His thumb brushed against the corner of her eye, and she realized she'd started crying._

_Tenderly, Neji leaned over her and kissed those tears away, which only made her cry harder. Hinata wrapped her arms around him. At that moment, for the first time in what seemed like forever, she was happy. _

"Hinata! Did you die in there?"  
Hinata jerked as her sister pounded on the shoji door. "I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." She climbed out of the bath and began drying off. Thankfully, the hot water would explain why she was red from head to toe.

_Thank you for reading this. Please let me know if you pick up anything that seems out of place or is just wrong J Special cookies and cream thanks to Aemilia for the review!_


	3. Time goes by

A/N: Okay,I had to make a slight timeline adjustment for the story to work.This fic is supposed to take place during the second that Naruto is gone from Konoha. BUT I also raised the ages of everyone by a year, just to make the story a little more believable. So, for everyone who's been wondering what's up… that's it.

Now, on with the story J

Neji always knew his career as a ninja would be brilliant but short-lived. His fate was to be a tool for the main family. While that burden seemed lighter since learning the truth about his father's death it was still there, looming just out of reach. Even after Hiashi agreed to train him, breaking more than three hundred years of Hyuuga tradition, his position did not change.

When he advanced and received the title of jounin he didn't need his uncle to tell him that it was in name only. He was still a caged bird, no matter his talent. More importantly, he was Hinata's caged bird, just as his father had been Hiashi's. His life was to be spent in service to the main family, not doing dangerous missions. He was to be at the Hyuuga's disposal, and _hers_, whenever they needed him. The irony of the situation was enough to make him laugh, when it didn't make him feel sick.

He'd often wondered if Hinata knew exactly what his seal meant, what he was to her. If she didn't already know, she would find out soon. His seal differed from those most of the branch family received in that it marked him specifically for her. Only she and Hiashi had control of it, to compel or punish as they saw fit. Once her father considered Hinata ready, he would transfer total control to her. A perverse part of him wondered if that connection had something to do with his attraction to her.

"Are you all right, Neji?"

The soft words broke his train of thought. "I'm fine."

The girl nodded, turning back to the movie. Juna Akane was pretty enough, with long blond hair and bright brown eyes. She was a jounin, a member of the team Neji would have joined if he were able. Her interest in him had been something of a godsend. Appearing with another girl had quelled some of the gossip that spread through the village like wildfire after he and the transfigured Hinata were seen. He hair, so blond it was almost white, made her easily recognizable. No more mystery girl for the gossip mongers to speculate on stilled wagging tongues and brought his life back to a semblance of normality.

The sex wasn't that bad, either.

It was astonishing, how important that had become to him in the past five months. Especially the last month. Before, being in a relationship with someone didn't occur to him. Hiashi would decide who he was to marry when the time came. What would be the point of starting a relationship with a woman when it would come to nothing? Though love-matches did happen in the Hyuuga clan, they were rare.

Akane knew and understood his situation. She wasn't expecting love, just… companionship. Someone to go out with, to watch her strange movies with. At first, he'd been skeptical. _Neji, do you want to get something to eat… _

Every woman he'd ever known was extremely possessive of the person she was in a relationship with. Or wasn't in a relationship with, if the behavior of every female in his age group towards Sasuke had been any indication._ Hey, the movie's over…_

But there was none of that behavior towards him, nothing that radiated 'he's mine, stay away'. Even after they started sleeping together.

"… not wearing any panties."

"Hm?" Neji turned his head.

Akane laughed. "I wondered if that would get your attention. The movie's over, you know."

A hint of a blush stained the boy's cheeks as he saw that not only was the movie over, but they were the last two people in the theatre. He'd been too lost in his thoughts to pay attention to anything else.

"Come on," Akane pulled him out of his seat. " Time to eat."

* * *

"You must feel it, Hinata."

The Hyuuga heir took a deep breath and tried again, ignoring the sweat running down her face. Chakra training was normally easy for her, the inborn ability of the Hyuuga making it her forte, but that only concerned her hands and feet. At the moment she was attempting to expel chakra through the seventh tenketsu, the one located at the base of her throat. She allowed herself to relax, to feel the movement of chakra as she breathed, charting the ebb and flow. Just a little more…

"Good, Hinata. Now eight."

The girl opened her eyes before shutting them just as quickly. Her father was watching her, byakugan activated. She hated that, it made her feel like he was seeing right through her. And in a sense, he was.

It was their third training session that week, since Hiashi determined her progress enough to allow her to learn kaiten. A burst of joy shot through her at the thought that Hanabi, who had been so far ahead of her months ago, had yet to start this training. In comparison, it was easier than learning the jyuuken, but at the same time infinitely harder. Before learning to open all tenketsu, you had to first lean to open each individually. Mastering that meant a reduced risk of using up too much chakra once she began practicing the actual move. The precaution was necessary. Several members of the main family, and even a few of the branch over the years had crippled their chakra circulatory system beyond repair by attempting to learn kaiten without learning the necessary control.

At first it seemed easy, but the fine control necessary to open each tenketsu was different. Since each persons chakra type was different it meant there were 64 different energy levels she had to discern for herself and memorize.

_I wonder how Neji managed this on his own._

The thought flitted through her mind, breaking her concentration. The feel of her chakra fled, and she hung her head. Immediately, she began to focus again, but it seemed that a floodgate had opened, and concentration eluded her.

"Enough for today, Hinata."

"Hai, chichiue." She stood unsteadily. Maintaining that level of control over her chakra for more than a few minutes was tiring. Her father had pushed her for nearly two hours. Still, he was pleased with her progress, if disappointed that she hadn't advanced even further.

Hinata walked out of the dojo, marking the position of the sun. If she hurried, she could make it to the meeting hall before Team 8 was given their mission.

_I wonder what Neji is doing_.

"Baka, baka, baka," Hinata whispered as she walked towards the meeting hall. No doubt he was out with his new girlfriend. The news that he'd found someone else so soon after her stung. Barely a week after breaking off with her he was seen with Akane. The girl was beautiful, intelligent, kind. There was nothing derogatory that Hinata could say about her.

Except that she was with Neji.

_Neji no baka, _she thought to herself, but with only half-hearted anger. It wasn't his fault that she didn't have the luxury of finding another person. Ninja weren't expected to abstain from life's pleasures. Short lives meant cramming as much living into the time you were allowed as possible. Unfortunately for her, the daughter of a noble house was expected to maintain a certain level of decorum. Nothing she did could be allowed to ruin the Hyuuga name, which included having a relationship with a man that was considered anything but platonic. Other girls might be able to have boyfriends and long walks in the moonlight, but not her.

There were times when she didn't know if she could bear it.

_You are like water, Hinata_. Kurenai's words from long ago came back to her. _You try to flow where you are directed, never fighting. Others see this as weakness, but for you it is your strength. Remember, water can wear down the greatest rock when given time._

* * *

_Something is wrong._

Aburame Shino cocked his head at the words. More impressions, really, but he'd grown so used to the ways in which his insects communicated that they may as well have been speaking. _What do you mean?_

_The Female. She is unwell._

Even though Shino was currently surrounded by women, he didn't need to ask what they meant. His insects always referred to Hinata as the Female, ever since they were put into the same genin group. _How?_

He could feel the insects buzzing in their displeasure. They considered Hinata and Kiba a part of their hive, and watched them as closely as they watched Shino himself.

_Unsure._

Shino felt a lone male crawl across his hand and head for his teammate. Hinata was sitting next to him as they waited for their next mission. He circled her once before landing on her hand. She bent down to get a closer look.

"Shino-san," Hinata whispered, holding her hand up.

_Come back_, he ordered. The male lingered for a moment before following directions. Hinata smiled shyly before turning her attention back to being unseen. The male entered Shino, and almost immediately the Kikai began chattering, so loud he wondered why no one was looking at him. _What is it?_

_The Female is with child._

Shino's eyes jerked to his team mate. Hinata? _How far?_

His insects began chirping quietly. Human gestation was foreign to them. _It is still faint, not far we think._

Shino just sat there, unsure of what to do. He'd known, for months now, that Hinata was seeing someone. The first time his insects picked up the faint scent of someone else he'd been surprised. She had taken care to wash away any hint of it, so careful that Kiba and Akamaru detected nothing, but his Kikai did. It was almost too faint for them to detect, no doubt a scent-masking jutsu designed to erase one's presence from conventional trackers.

Too faint for him to discern who it was.

Shino left it at that. Hinata seemed no worse for it. In fact, her self-confidence improved. So long as there seemed to be no ill effects from her relationship, he found no reason to invade her privacy. Suddenly, a month ago, the scent began to fade. After a week it was completely gone. It had faded before so he paid it no attention, but the scent didn't return.

_She cannot go._ _The child will be in danger._

A tremor went through Shino, followed by another. The room, which before had been cool, was growing hot. _What are you doing? _

_She cannot go._ The heat was rising. Sweat was beading at his temples, collecting around his mouth.

"Shino-san?" Hinata was staring at him.

"Eh, Shino. What's up?" Kiba had a hand on his shoulder.

The Aburame boy tried to stand, but stumbled. "Shino!" Hands caught him and lowered him to the floor. Kurenai was kneeling over him, placing a hand on his forehead. Hinata was leaning against Kiba, who was shouting for a medical-nin. The last thing he saw was Tsunade standing over him.

* * *

"Do you always have to run away after sex?"

Neji smirked as he pulled on his pants. " If I didn't, you'd keep me here all day."

Behind him Akane rose up on her knees. "I'd have good reason to." She draped herself over his shoulders. "Are you sure you have to go?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay. 'Night Neji." The blond got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. "Lock the door on your way out."

"Aa."

The Hyuuga chose the fastest route to his apartment, jumping from rooftop to rooftop before landing on his balcony. The apartment was a gift from Hiashi after he passed the chuunin exam, a true act of kindness on the part of his uncle. Neji stripped as he walked to the bathroom, allowing his clothes to fall where they would. It was a kind of ritual he'd developed in the three weeks since he started dating Akane. After sex he would return to his apartment and bathe, then spend the rest of the evening staring at nothing. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy her company. He just never felt the desire to linger with her. After sex, the date was over.

It was never that way with Hinata.

Often, he would find an excuse to linger with his cousin, even if just to hold her. Once, he used the excuse of training to take her out of the village entirely and to a resort town, just to relax in a bath with her without the fear of being caught. The few memories he had of being able to doze with her were enough to lift his spirits for hours on end. He'd found reasons to touch her, if just to feel the softness of her skin.

_Hinata._

Neji turned on the cold water, hissing as the icy flow washed over him. The erection that had started at thoughts of his cousin beat a hasty retreat. After a few more minutes, just to make sure he didn't have any more thoughts of his cousin, he turned up the heat. It wasn't his first cold shower, though he held the hope it would be his last. _I am stronger than this._

Neji dressed quickly once he was out of the shower. His training session with Hiashi was to begin soon, and his uncle frowned upon tardiness. In punishment he usually made the younger Hyuuga squat with his knees together, thigh and calf at a perfect ninety degree angle, while he recited not only the basic jyuuken moves, but also those of the divination whirl. Today, his uncle wanted to test his ability to cap his chakra points, allowing none of his energy to leak out. It was essential to learning even more complex and deadly fighting techniques, techniques that Neji wouldn't have been able to learn on his own.

* * *

Thank you everybody for reading this. Once again, report any screw ups to me so they can be fixed, and have great days! Special whip cream and strawberries thanks goes out to Elisa Ardell, Ah-choo, and Eymie for their great reviews! 


	4. Truth

Hinata knew something was wrong when the smell of tea made her sick.

It happened Tuesday morning while she was having breakfast with her father and Hanabi. She'd passed up the omelets, even though they were usually her favorite, opting instead for rice and fish. The combination left a greasy film in her mouth, so she reached for the tea.

And ran to the bathroom.

"Hinata, are you okay?" Hanabi called through the door.

"I-I'm fine," Hinata answered as another wave of nausea hit.

Hanabi sounded unconvinced. "Are you sure? Maybe you should go to the doctor."

"N-no, Hanabi." Hinata flushed the toilet and went to the sink. She looked paler then normal, her complexion waxy. She washed her mouth out and splashed cold water on her face. She stepped out of the bathroom with a smile. "S-see, fine."

Her sister didn't look convinced.

"A-any, I'm supposed to see how Shino-san is doing." Hinata edged towards the door. "Tell chichue I'm better." She left before Hanabi could say anything else.

Two days had passed since Shino collapsed before their assignment. She still didn't understand it. Shino was never sick, his kikai made sure of that. Even though Kurenai said that he would be fine, Hinata wasn't so sure. Whatever had made him sick had to be serious.

On the way to the hospital she stopped and got a small bouquet of tiger lilies for her friend. Both Shino and his kikai liked the smell of them. In summer he would lie down in the forest where the thickest bunches of wild lilies grew. She held the burlap wrapped bundle close to her chest. Ino's mother assured her that the burlap would keep the cold from bruising them, but she didn't want to take any chances.

"Hinata-sama."

The Hyuuga heir froze. "N-Neji-nisan?" She turned around, sure that when she did no one would be there. It wasn't the first time she imagined his voice.

"I heard that Shino was ill. Do you know anything?"

Hinata's heart stopped. Her cousin was standing behind her, looking at her expectantly. Instead of wearing his usual sweats and vest, he was wearing a formal kimono and overcoat. The thought that the clothes suited him better than his ninja attire made her blush, and she focused her eyes on the ground. "I-I was going to see him. Do…do you want to come with me?" the words were rushed. Those were the most words he'd spoken to her all month.

Neji just stood there, looking at a spot above her right shoulder, and Hinata found herself wilting. The straight back she'd fought so hard to achieve was bending under his stare. Self-confidence fled, and it was all she could do to keep her hands at her sides. He'd told her before to break her habit of playing with her fingers, since it gave away too much of her mood.

"Fine." The words were spoken a split-second before she took back her invitation. A flash of warmth went through her. However brief, and for whatever reason, Neji was going to spend time with her.

"Hiashi-sama tells me you've begun training for Kaiten."

"H-hai. Chichue thinks I'm ready for it." She peeked at her cousin through her bangs, but he kept his gaze on the road ahead. She sighed to herself. "How h-have you been?"

Neji glanced at her out the corner of his eye. "Hiashi-sama has begun showing me many different techniques, as well as continuing to correct some of my faults."

"Oh," Hinata looked around with a shiver, unsure of where to settle her eyes. Konoha in winter was beautiful. A storm had blown in the night before, powdering the village with snow. The coldness of the day allowing most of it to stay on the ground. The jacket she was wearing was little protection against the cold, being made for warmer weather, but she hadnt wanted to risk running into her father if she went back home.

"You're cold, Hinata."

A warm weight settled on his shoulders, and she looked up, startled. Neji had taken off his long overcoat and put it on her shoulders. "B-but Neji-nisan, you'll be cold…"

"It doesn't bother me," he replied quickly. "You should have taken care to dress more warmly."

Hinata pulled the garment closer around her. If just for a few minutes, she could pretend his arms were around her.

* * *

When they arrived at the hospital, Shino was sleeping, his father watching over him. Occasionally, a few bugs would go from father to son. It was the second time Neji had seen the chuunin's father up close. The first had been at his jounin testing. The older Aburame gave both of them a nod before turning his attention back to his son.

"How is he, Aburame-san?" Hinata asked.

"He's fine, Hinata, but you can ask him yourself."

Shino opened his eyes at his father's words. Seeing the younger Aburame without his glasses was odd. The whole eye was glassy blackness, from sclera to pupil, a disturbing sight if you weren't prepared for it. Hinata didn't seem to notice.

"Here, Shino-san," she said, holding out a brown sack she was carrying. She thought for a moment. "I-I should put them in water, so they don't wilt."

Neji watched as Hinata struggled to find something to put water in. Finally, with a sheepish smile, she borrowed the boy's water jug.

Shino smiled when he saw the flowers. "Thank you, Hinata." Kikai began coming out of the chuunin in a steady stream, heading for the makeshift vase.

"Did they find out what was wrong." Neji asked.

"My kikai were responding to a threat," Shino answered. "They've calmed now. Once my temperature stabilizes again, I can go home."

"Threat?"

It was hard to tell with the other boy's strange eyes, but Neji thought he looked almost pensive. "They grew overprotective, that's all." Shino turned his eyes to Hinata. "Kiba was here yesterday. He wanted to know when we'd be able to go on our picnic."

Neji watched as Shino and Hinata talked. The elder Aburame exited the room quietly, giving Neji the briefest of nods. No doubt he'd return when the two Hyuugas left. Neji activated his byakugan. Shino's chakra was irregular, flowing evenly in some places and not flowing at all in others. Neji lessened the power of his sight, and focused on the kikai. The insects, instead of being evenly distributed, were clumped in different places. He switched back to the full power byakugan, his lips thinning. The way the bugs were grouping coincided with the uneven chakra flow. They werent trying to fix the problem, they were the cause.

Neji deactivated his eyes before Shino turned back to him. Hinata was standing.

"We'll let you rest, Shino-san."

The Aburame boy nodded and laid back, eyes closed. When the door closed he turned his attention to the lilies. They were beautiful. Trust Hinata to remember something as odd as what kind of flowers he liked.

_He is the one._

Shino tensed. _You're sure._

_The scent is the same._

Shino stared at the hospital ceiling. At first he suspected Kiba. The dog-nin was protective of Hinata, and more than once had asked Shino what he thought of her. When their behavior towards each other didn't change, he had his doubts. Yesterday, his curiosity finally got the better of him, and he asked the kikai to sniff the boy out. Finding out that their teammate wasn't responsible for Hinata's condition had given him some small relief, but knowing the truth robbed him of that and more. He already knew one secret that would cause Hinata problems, a secret he'd been trying to find a way to tell her. Now he knew something even more dangerous. The kikai picked up his irritation, swarming under his skin.

_What do we do?_

Shino closed his eyes. _Do not tell my father._

The kikai quieted, confused. There were no secrets among bugs, after all. _He knows the Female is with child._

_And that's all he will know._

The door to his room opened, and his father entered. The seriousness of his expression was all Shino needed to see. "Otou-san."

"Shino."

* * *

"It's snowing, Neji-nisan."

Hinata looked up, smiling when a snow flake landed on the tip of her nose. The streets of Konoha were mostly empty, everyone who didn't have to be out staying indoors. The large snowflakes drifting slowly on the breeze made the village look like a snow globe.

"Beautiful."

Hinata started, turning her eyes to her cousin. He wasn't looking at the village, he was looking at her. She ducked her head and began playing with her fingers inside the coat. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Neji turn away, his mouth tight.

"You should return home before the snow worsens, Hinata-sama," he said after a moment, eyes focused on the road. "I'll walk you."

"O-okay."

The walk home was fast, faster than she would have liked. Too soon they were at the gates that led into the Hyuuga family compound. "Wo-would you like some tea, Neji-nisan?"

She knew he was going to say no, but she wanted to ask him anyway. He was still her cousin, and she'd taken his coat from him, made him walk through the village in nothing but his kimono. The least she could do was offer him tea. A bath would have been better, but there was no way-

"That would be kind of you, Hinata."

She walked through the gates quickly, not seeing the garden they walked through. "You co-could take a bath as well, Neji-nisan. I-it would be no trouble…" Hinata trailed off, unsure.

"Just tea, Hinata-sama."

"Um. Will you have it in the garden, or-"

"The kitchen will be fine," Neji replied.

Hinata handed him his coat and headed for the kitchen, aware of his footfalls behind her.

"Hinata-sama, you're home," Masue, one of the servants, said as she rounded a corner. "Hiashi-sama and Hanabi have gone to train early today. They said to expect them before dark."

The Hyuuga heir nodded and watched the older woman as she walked down the hall, arms full of still-steaming sheets. She would have to make one of her creams for her, to keep her hands from cracking in the cold.

The kitchen was empty, everything neatly put away. It was too warm, so she took off her coat and hung it on one of several hooks usually reserved for aprons. Working on auto pilot Hinata filled a pot and gathered cups. Neji liked milk tea with honey, a fact that still had the power to make her smile. She'd expected him to like green tea, or oolong. Milk tea was almost… girly.

Neji watched his cousin as she worked in the kitchen. When she wasn't being self-conscious, Hinata was very graceful. There was no wasted movement, no fidgeting. It was the same when she made her ointments. She became so involved in the process that she stopped paying attention to everything else. She was making milk tea, his favorite, with the kind of single minded joy that he saw in children when they were making something important for a parent or loved one. That she was taking so much time to make him happy left a warm feeling in his chest

_"Wo- would you like some tea?"_

_Neji stumbled into his uncle at the soft words. Hiashi caught him before he could fall on his face. "Are you all right, Neji?" he asked, concerned. _

_"Hai, Hiashi-sama," the boy mumbled, fighting down a flush. _

_Hiashi smiled slightly at his nephew. It didn't surprise him that he had faltered. "Perhaps a break, nephew."_

_Neji nodded and followed his uncle to a shaded spot in the garden. Hinata was already setting out plates. She'd brought more than tea. Several rice balls were arranged neatly on a plate, along with a tray of dango. At her father's questioning look she shrugged._

_"You missed lunch, Chichue," she explained._

_Neji focused on his tea as Hinata finished setting out the snacks. A week had passed since that day in the woods. During the day he avoided his cousin, and it seemed she avoided him just as carefully. There were times when he could almost convince himself that it hadnt happened, that it had been some strange, perverted dream. Then he would remember the feel of her legs at his waist, the clinging heat of her sex, and he could no longer deny that it had been real._

_The dreams were even worse._

_The young Hyuuga didn't doubt that if there were a hell he would find himself in it in his next life. His dreams were filled with images of his cousin, of the way her skin felt, the taste of her, the sound of her voice as she called his name. He was beginning to stay up later and push himself harder in an attempt to curb them, hoping that exhaustion would keep them away. If he were a lesser man, he would say he feared them. The more he had, the more he wanted to experience the real thing again._

_"Ne-Neji-nisan, is the tea too hot?"_

_Hinata was staring at her hands twisting in her lap. She glanced up at him once, then focused on her hands again._

_"No, Hinata-sama." Neji drank, wincing as the hot liquid scalded his tongue. The tea was too hot. _

_She smiled then, a shy smile so full of hope that he found himself smiling in return._

_"Hinata has improved much under your tutelage, Neji."_

_The younger Hyuuga took another drink of the tea, the liquid making little impression on his already scalded tongue. "Thank you, Hiashi-sama."_

_His cousin, who was already blushing slightly went scarlet and rose, bowing her way out of the courtyard._

_She will make a good wife for someone, one day._

A stab of jealously when through him at the thought. Of course she would marry, it was the duty of the heir to continue the Hyuuga line. If Sasuke were still in the village, Hiashi would no doubt begin approaching him. It had been speculated what kind of blood line limit melding the two families would bring about. The hope was someone who would inherit _both _limits. Ninja with the Hyuuga ability to see the tenketsu and the Uchiha ability of insight would be valuable to the village indeed.

He felt more than a little relief that Sasuke was gone.

Hinata hissed, shaking her hand as she rushed to the sink. Without thinking Neji was across the kitchen. She was already running cold water over the injured hand. A thin band of red ran across the palm, a quick glance at the pot revealed a strip of the plastic covering was missing from the handle.

"I-I'm al-all right, Neji-nisan," Hinata murmured.

She was trembling. He could feel it, pressed as he was against her back, one of her hands in his. Hinata looked up at him, gasping as his hand tightened on hers. She was pale, paler than the snow still falling outside. He could think of only one thing.

He kissed her.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading this. Special warm cherry tart thanks goes out to Lady of Genesis, Lil' Monk, and Ah-choo for their reviews!

See something you like, hate, a place where I screwed up? Write a review and let me know!


	5. Snowy Afternoon

Control.

For someone who grew up in the Hyuuga branch family, that word took on new meaning. You learned swiftly that control of your life, something everyone else took for granted, wasn't actually yours. Most took this as a matter of course, a consequence of being in the most talented and affluent family in Konoha. Others, recognizing that lack of control strove to find as aspect of their life they could. Neji decided early on that if he couldn't control his life, he would control his body. To that end he practiced constantly, pushed himself, taught himself techniques that no branch family member was supposed to know.

He struggled even more with control of his emotions. Anger or frustration directed at a main family member was met with instant punishment, depending on who was close. He discovered over the years that his grandfather was particularly sensitive to supposed slights from the branch family. The only recourse was being able to control your emotions; to feel anger, even rage, without showing the barest flicker.

With Hinata, all that control was gone.

Neji pulled his cousin against him, moaning at the pressure it put on his already rampant erection. The hand that held Hinata's loosened, his fingers twining with hers as his free hand trailed up her side before pulling the thin material of her shirt up to touch the bare skin of her stomach. Her breath hitched as cold hand met hot skin, and he took the opportunity to deepen his kiss.

A small part of him, the part still capable of rational thought, was calling him every kind of fool. He was spooning with his cousin in a kitchen were anyone, including her father, could walk in. The thought that they might be caught heightened his arousal. A part of him wanted her father to see, to know that she was no longer his. His lips trailed over her cheek and down her throat, stopping at the joining of neck and shoulder. He wanted to mark her, to let everyone know she belonged to him…

The sheer desire behind that thought made him stop. He lowered Hinata's shirt with shaking hands and stepped away. _We cannot do this_, he repeated the thought like a mantra, balling his hands into fists to stop their trembling.

"Neji?"

He back away farther when she said his name. She sounded too tempting, and seeing her flushed, lips red from his kiss, was too much. "I have to go. Thank you for the tea, Hinata-sama."

It wasn't running, he told himself. He was simply moving expediently. Which was why he took a short cut, jumping the two stories to the roofs of the Hyuuga compound and into the surrounding forest. The kimono he wore wasn't really suited for this kind of activity, making it difficult to jump from branch to branch, but he didn't stop until he was well away from his family home.

_You should be caned, _he thought, white eyes staring at the snow beneath his feet. _What is wrong with you?_ Attempting to seduce Hinata, in her home no less. He had little doubt that if he hadn't stopped he would have taken her there and then. The cabinets were at just the right height…

"No!" Neji punched the tree he was leaning against, welcoming the pain. It worked so well to override the thoughts of Hinata naked and writhing against him that he did it again, and again, until the skin of his knuckles was raw and bleeding.

* * *

When Hinata threw up the next morning, and the morning after that, she started to worry. When she checked the calendar hanging up in her room, she worried more.

_No,_ she said to herself. _No, no, no, no, no_. She checked the dates back and forth, but in the end the numbers didn't change. Her period was late, nearly a week late and counting.

Hinata stared at the calendar. She was never late, she could have set a watch by the regularity of her monthlies. Only now she was, and that along with the morning sickness was reason enough for a sick ball of fear to settle in her stomach. She and Neji had been having sex for nearly four months. After the first time they began using condoms, though how he got them without the whole village going into an uproar had left her wondering. Still, that last time had been too hurried for either of them to think of the consequences.

"I cant be," she whispered, leaning forward until her forehead landed against the wall. Hot tears were gathering in her eyes, and she brushed at them angrily. She couldn't be, but without actually going to the hospital and asking for the test there was no way to know for certain. It wasn't like she could walk into the store and pick up one of those small at-home kits, was it? Mrs. Ikeda, the woman who worked at the drugstore, was nice enough; but everyone knew that if you had a secret to keep, she was the last person on earth you told. Shouting it from the rooftops couldn't have alerted more people to it than that woman could in a single day. She had to rely on her own knowledge, and instincts. Small details were coming back to her; the change in her diet over the past month, not all together, but in stages. A tenderness in her breasts, sensitivity to smells, and a dozen other small things that she'd dismissed.

Hinata twisted around to sit on her butt, head banging against the wall behind her. The pain was welcome and she did it again, so hard that small dots began to dance before her eyes. The thought of her sister finding her after she'd knocked herself out flitted through her head, coupled with an image of her father when she was taken to the hospital and they found out she was pregnant.

"A ninja controls her emotions," she recited, wiping away the tears running down her cheeks. "She does not show anger, or fear. She does not weep for those who have fallen. She is a weapon, an unsheathed blade." The kunoichi repeated those words again and again.

After a few moments the tears stopped entirely, and she scrubbed a hand over her face. There was something she could do, something that all female ninja were taught once they passed the genin exams. It wasn't unheard of for kunoichi to use sex as a weapon or a means to get information. There were jutsus that could prevent pregnancy, and failing that, methods of dealing with it.

Hinata's hands curled protectively around her stomach at the thought.

"Hinata."

The girl swiftly rubbed her hands over her face, trying to erase any sign of moisture. "Ha-hai, Chichue."

The door opened, and Hyuuga Hiashi walked in. He frowned at his oldest daughter. She was flushed, her eyes red and puffy. "What's wrong? You're late for training."

Hinata kept her eyes on the floor. She knew it angered her father that she never looked him in the eye, but at the moment she didn't care. "I-I'm not feeling well, Ch-chichue." Her hands tightened on her stomach, as if there were already a distinguishable bulge there.

Hiashi noticed her hands. "Learning such fine chakra control can have that affect, especially on women. Perhaps after a few days without practice you will feel better."

"Thank you."

* * *

Shino stood outside the gates to the Hyuuga compound, bracing himself. There was nothing frightening about them. More than once he'd walked through them with Hinata and Kiba, either going to or coming back from one of the picnics that their team member liked to have. He wished more than anything it would be that simple today.

_Aburame was not pleased._

_I know._

When Shino's father questioned him about Hinata, the boy had told him only the bare essentials, which was what his insects had already revealed. Hinata had been involved for someone for four months. She was pregnant. No, he didn't think it was any of his business. No, he didn't know if she knew yet.

That was why he was there today.

"Shino-kun!"

Hinata was walking across the courtyard, trailing behind a woman with a basket. Reluctantly, she handed over her charge and started towards him. "Hinata." She stopped in front of him, blushing a bit, no doubt at her haste. "Do you have time to walk with me? There's something I wanted to speak to you about." There, that wasn't too cryptic.

"Su-sure, Shino. I'll be right back." Hinata took off at a run. "Taka, I'm going out with Shino," she said quietly when she reached the servant.

Konoha was busy despite the cold winter. Snow, a rare occurrence, was falling almost nightly, blanketing the village in white. While the adults might groan at the added work the weather was causing, the village children were rejoicing. Snow fights were common on nearly every street, and Shino had no doubt that as they moved further away from the village the number would only increase.

"Does the cold bother your kikai, Shino?" Hinata asked as they passed the outer gates of the village.

"No. My body keeps them warm enough."

"Oh." Hinata looked at the ground. "What did you want to speak to me about?"

Shouts stopped him from saying anything. Six children sprinted across the road in front of them, falling over themselves and laughing as they were attacked with snowballs. Two jounins were pelting them mercilessly.

They were at the ninja monument before she spoke again.

"It's pretty here, Shino-kun," the kunoichi said as they sat on the steps.

"Aa." Shino busied himself with pouring tea from a thermos into two mugs. It was quiet, he couldn't sense anyone else around, which was for the best. He sent two dozen of his kikai to make a perimeter around them. If anyone approached, he'd know in seconds.

"Th-thank you, Shino-kun." Hinata wrapped her hands around the mug. "Kurenai-sensei said that we would have more missions once the snow stopped. No one seems to want anything done-"

"I know, Hinata."

It wasn't what he was supposed to say. Hinata paled at his words, eyes on her mug.

"Kn-know what, Shino?" She sipped the tea.

"About you and Neji." There, that was easier than he thought it would be.

His team mate froze next to him. Most of her did. Her fingers tightened on the mug convulsively.

Hinata laughed nervously. "I-I do-don't know what yo-you mean, Shino-kun." Her eyes were moving frantically.

"Insects have the best sense of smell, far better than mammals." Shino kept his voice even and slightly detached. "They can sift through smells more accurately than most creatures. Kikai especially are attuned to the human body."

She was shaking now, a full body tremor than wouldn't have been invisible if it weren't for the mug she held. "Shi-Shino-kun…"

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not judging you, Hinata. I thought you should know I know." She was pale, so white that she looked like a porcelain doll left in the snow. "There's more, Hinata."

"Mo-more?" she looked at him then, wide-eyed.

"You're with child."

Hinata's hands went to her mouth, pressing hard. The mug landed between her feet, hot tea melting the snow there. Slowly, she doubled over. "How long?" she asked, her voice little more than a muffled whisper. "How long have you known?"

He decided to tell her everything. He told her about when his kikai first noticed the change in her, the way they made him sick to protect her. She sat there bent over, silent, until he stopped talking.

"Hinata?"

"Hai, Shino-kun?"

"Are you all right?"

_No, I'm not all right you know I'm unmarried and pregnant and kami how do I tell Neji what will we do,_ the thoughts rushed through her, followed by anger, then remorse, finally settling into a strange numbness.

"Hai, Shino-kun.

* * *

Hinata refused Shino's request to walk her back home, ignoring his silent entreaty. She couldn't go home, not yet, and she couldn't stay with him. She sat at the monument, unaware of time passing around her. Twice she felt someone approach, watch her for a moment, then leave. After an hour she rose, deciding that she'd used the space long enough. There were those who wanted to be there alone, and she wouldn't deny them the chance to remember their loved ones.

The kunoichi walked aimlessly around the forest surrounding her village. She wondered how long it would take for her family to notice if she didn't return. A day, two days? Still timid despite her training, even more so in recent weeks, she was like a ghost in her own home. Who would notice she was gone first? Her father? Hanabi? Taka would wonder where her little helper had disappeared to, but wouldn't say anything immediately. How far could she run in that time?

Hinata banished the thought. If she ran her father would follow, with as many ANBU as he could wrench out of the Hokage. Where would she go? No country would be willing to harbor her unless she gave up the secrets of the byakugan. More likely, she would be a welcome prisoner; used and abused until there was nothing her body, or that of her child, could reveal about her bloodline. Skirting through the countryside would be equally useless. She would be caught, and then they would know.

A stone block stopped the girl's random journey. A shrine stood placidly in the middle of the forest. It was one she'd followed Kakashi to many times over the years. Most of Konoha had forgotten it existed, but the jounin remembered. More than once she watched as he took it upon himself to sweep out fallen leaves or other refuse that managed to find its way in. Someone else made sure the jars of incense were always filled, and that the red gate stayed its vibrant color, but that was all. It was small, little more than a stage with an offering box in its center.

The kunoichi walked to the small well next to the torii gate. Carefully, she chipped a small circle in the thick ice just large enough for the ladle to fit through and poured the water on one hand, then the other. At the steps she toed her shoes off, then climbed to the stage. It was the first time she'd actually gone inside. It felt calm there… peaceful, as if the world outside didn't exist. The Hyuuga heir felt in her pockets, and realized that she left the house without money. She was about to turn around when something small and round brushed against her finger.

The ring belonged to her mother, one of the few reminders she had of the woman who died so early in her life. The silver band held a single emerald with four small diamonds at each side. It was a gift from Miyoko's grandmother, a sign that she was no longer a child. Her father gave it to her when she turned thirteen, along with one of her mother's formal kimono and a jade comb.

Hinata watched with dry eyes as the ring fell through the slates of the offering box.

The incense was jasmine, the sweet smell strange on the cold air. The sound of the bell would be loud in the small space, but she pulled the red streamer as hard as she could. She clapped, the sharp sound making her jump in the stillness. _Please, _she prayed, eyes squeezed shut. She tried to think of something, anything else, but that was the only word she could think of. _Please, please please._

Hinata didn't know when her legs gave out, or when the tears she stopped earlier returned full force. All she knew was that she was kneeling, forehead pressed against the cold wood of the shrine floor as tears pooled on her hands.

_Please…_

* * *

"Are you sure, Hiashi?"

The head of the Hyuuga family nodded, his face grim. "Shino's father confirmed it this afternoon." His hands fisted on his knees. Aburame had been concerned, interested only in imparting news to a colleague about the welfare of his daughter, nothing more. Still, the thought that someone outside the Hyuuga family knew…

"And he will tell no one?"

"He has assured me of his confidence." The Aburames were a close-mouthed family on their better days. If he said he wouldn't speak of it, it might as well never have existed.

"Good. Then things are going as planned."

Hiashi swept his eyes over the family council. It consisted of the eldest of the Hyuuga, nine in all, with his father at its head. "What of Neji?"

"He will do as he is ordered."

That calm voice, so assured that it would be obeyed, drove the blunt nails on Hiashi's hands into his palms. "And Hinata?"

Hyuuga Himori stood and walked towards his son, placing a firm hand on his shoulders. "Her progress has been nothing short of extraordinary, something that was not counted on, but that alone would not have spared her. _This_ will assure her place in the main family."

"Hai, Chichue." Hiashi forced his hands to relax, his gaze fixed on a small lantern behind his father.

"The arrangements have been made. When Neji returns from his mission I will see both of them."

Hiashi bowed before the council and walked outside with careful, measured steps. _Damn you, _the words were shouted in his mind.

_And damn me as well._

* * *

Once again, thank you to everyone who reads this! I love you all J Special honey-dipped donuts thanks goes out to kokonutsu (x4), Elisa Ardell, morgannia, and Lil'Monk for their reviews! Thanks so much!

Extra special thanks to Lil'Monk for that long...detailed... partial beta of my story. I'm sorry about the apostrophes! Every English professor I've ever had has tried to beat me into using them, but it just never sunk in. I'll try harder, really I will. And, the requested definitions for Japanese words...

_Kunoichi: _female ninja

_Chichue: _father. Only used by nobility.

_Kikai:_ the insects the Aburame clan uses.

_Kun_: a term of endearment

_Aa:_ slang term for yes

_Kami_: god.

_torii gate:_ those large, beautiful gates that stand at the opening to Shinto shrines. They can be painted red, orange, or white. If you need a visual, just type 'torii gate' into any search engine :)


	6. Grace

_Hinata loved gardening. All of the flowers were in bloom, and the summer weather extending into fall made each one smell wonderful. She sighed though, as she clipped another wilting flower or dead limb. Her training with Neji had taken her away from her garden, and what little time she had wasn't enough to give each plant the attention it needed. The only reason she was able to now was that Neji was on a mission. _

I hope he's all right._ She clipped off a small flower, adding it to the basket at her side. She was running low on supplies, and she would need them when her cousin returned. Ever since she stitched his side he would come to her for his injuries to be tended, provided they weren't too serious. His team should have returned days ago, but there had been no word. _

A butterfly landed on her basket, another on her hand. A whole flock of them were moving through the small garden plot she'd claimed as her own, and she kept perfectly still. The blue and red winged insects landed briefly on plants before taking off again; chasing each other, dancing in the warm air. As if realizing they had an audience the flock drifted away, towards the stream that ran along the northern wall of the Hyuuga compound and out of sight. Dusting her hands off, Hinata gathered her gardening tools and basket and started for the shed she used to make her salves. _The wood of the old door was worn smooth, and she pulled the shed door closed behind her, eyes fighting to adjust to the gloom. _

A hand reached out and grabbed Hinata by the upper arm, spinning her around. The basket dropped to the floor as she focused her chakra into her free hand, prepared to strike. Whoever it was would learn she was no longer an easy target.

"Hinata."

The kunoichi's eyes went wide as she stopped her chakra, her hand landing harmlessly on the man's chest. "Neji."

Her cousin looked the worse for wear. The long tunic he wore was ripped at the shoulder, the sleeves frayed. He wasn't bleeding that she could see, only dirty. She sniffed, and giggled. "You smell."

The boy shrugged. "Gai had us hiding in a barn for almost three days before we crossed the border back into the Fire Country. I've only just returned."

Hinata smiled and threw her arms around his neck, balancing herself on her toes as she kissed him. Neji's arms slid around her waist, pulling her closer as he peppered kisses down her cheek and neck. In an instant their positions were reversed, the rough wood of the shed pressing into her back. His hands pulled at the pants she was wearing and she turned her attention to his, fumbling with his belt knot as she toed her sandals and pants off completely. The wrap-around shirt she was wearing fell open and he took immediate advantage, rough fingertips teasing her nipples. She groaned, hands fisting in his hair as he pressed biting kisses along her collarbone.

Neji's hands dragged down her sides and settled at her hips before lifting her. Hinata wrapped her legs around his waist and he entered her with one swift thrust. She bit her lip as the pleasure washed over her, then he was kissing her, taking her moans and sighs and answering with sounds of his own. It wasn't like the first time. There was no hesitancy, no slow build-up. Too soon she was shuddering and gasping as Neji poured himself into her, his hands cradling her to him, hers clawing at the material at his back.

* * *

Neji couldn't look at Hinata's shed without feeling a rush of heat. The shed had been their haven of sorts. It had long been his cousin's private refuge away from the world, and most were reluctant to bother her when she was making her salves. It made the perfect place for them to meet when getting out of the village was difficult. The thought that anyone could walk in and catch them added to the danger, the sense of the forbidden.

_You are a sick person, Hyuuga Neji,_ he thought to himself. He'd read about people like that before, in one of the books that Kakashi seemed to enjoy reading so much. Once you overlooked the rampant pornography and crudity, it was actually an interesting commentary on shinobi life. There was a character, Rumiko, that couldn't enjoy sex at all unless she was being watched or in a situation where she and her partner could be caught. _Get your mind out of the gutter and into the present._

Shaking his head mentally, he walked faster out of the Hyuuga compound. The last thing he wanted after seeing the shed was to run into Hinata. He shouldn't have went with her to see Shino. That small amount of time was enough to bring memories he was steadily trying to bury back to the surface. It might result in a situation that he wouldn't be able to explain himself out of. Like if he called out Hinata's name while having sex with Akane.

_And even when trying to get your mind off of sex, it circles back to it,_ he thought contemptuously, shoving anything not having to do with his current task into the back of his mind. Tsunade had sent him running for the family documents almost before he, Tenten and Lee walked into her office. Why she wanted scrolls that hadn't been looked at in nearly two decades was beyond him. They contained nothing but farming records from one of the Hyuuga land holdings on the outskirts of the Fire Country.

"Neji."

The boy straightened at his uncle's voice. Hiashi was standing in the middle of the walkway, hands resting on his cane. "Yes, Hiashi-sama?"

"You will be here tomorrow night at seven." The older man was watching him, Neji could feel himself being weighed and measured behind those white eyes. At least he wasn't left with the feeling that he was found wanting. Still, his uncle was looking for something, and he was determined not to give it.

"As you wish," he answered calmly, bowing again before sidestepping around the older man. There, he managed to answer properly without giving away anything of his discomfort, not even the slightest twitch of an eye. Whatever Hiashi wanted to speak to him about would have to wait until tomorrow. He still had the documents to deliver and a mission report to file.

After delivering the scrolls he started towards the small bar where he and his team met after missions. From the raucous singing, Gai and Lee were well into their celebrations, no doubt dragging a blushing and embarrassed Tenten along with them.

"Neji! Come, join in our celebration of the joys of life!" Gai handed him a cup of tea and turned to one of the waitresses. "Four orders of mochi please, and an order of red bean ice cream."

"You'd think they were drunk," Tenten whispered as they watched Gai and Lee arm wrestle.

Neji sipped his tea. "Gai wont let Lee touch alcohol until he's twenty, and promised a drop wouldn't pass his lips until he could enjoy it with his student."

"Eh? When'd he do that?"

"Two months ago." Neji shuddered at the memory. It was well known after the Kimimoro incident that Lee had absolutely no tolerance for alcohol, which made him the prime target for one of Kiba's practical jokes. When Neji caught up to his teammate Lee was attempting to woo Sakura, singing out of tune at her open window while dodging the various items she was throwing at him. It took both he and Gai, and a promise from Sakura that she would go out with Lee once he was sober, to get him home.

Tenten sighed. "All the good stuff happens when I'm gone."

"Trust me, you didn't want to be there." The only thing more horrible than a drunk Lee was a hung over, emotionally fragile one.

* * *

Hinata dodged under the bandit's arm, her kunai flashing as she rolled out of the way. Blood began pouring down his sleeve, arm hanging limp at his side. He turned and rushed her. The kunoichi's fist flashed, and the bandit fell back, unconscious.

Pain flared in her back as she was hit from behind, sending her reeling forward. She caught herself, but before she could retaliate the man stiffened and began to scream. A black mass covered him, cutting off his cries.

Shino was there before she could right herself, helping her to her feet. Even with his glasses on she could feel the weight of his stare. "I'm all right, Shino-kun."

"Eh, Hinata. You let that guy get the drop on you," Kiba watched as the kikai began moving towards Shino, the potbellied bandit they were feeding on twitching on the ground. With her byakugan activated, Hinata could see that they left him with barely enough chakra to stay alive.

She nodded tiredly, releasing the jutsu. Their mission was supposed to be a simple one: arrest a gang of bandits who were preying on travelers and villagers around Yanada village. What they discovered were a group of missing nins, chuunin and genin, from other villages.

"Good work, everyone." Kurenai dropped down from the trees were she'd been watching them. "We have to take them to Konoha."

Kiba groaned, arguing that it would be easier to just kill them instead of dragging seven grown men cross-country.

"They're sorry."

"Shino-kun?"

The boy looked away from her, eyes focusing on their teammates. "My kikai. They're sorry they didn't help you sooner."

"Oh." Hinata still didn't understand her relationship with the insects. Shino said they felt protective of her, but she hadnt expected them to feel remorse. "Te-tell them I'm okay. It wa-was just a scratch." And it was true. The man had misjudged the distance, his katana grazing her before the kikai took him down. The wound was already closing, her shirt acting as a makeshift bandage.

"Hey, lovebirds, get over here and help tie these assholes up!"

Hinata blushed and hurried over, not daring to look at Shino. Kiba's sense of humor had a habit of making her do that. Shino said it was because dogs were very licentious, which kept the other boy's mind in the gutter more often than not. The fact that their teammate didn't deny the accusation gave the argument weight.

"So, you two dating or something?"

"Wh-what?" The length of rope Kiba threw at her slipped through her fingers.

"You and Shino." Kiba tightened the knot securing the prisoners hands. "You've been awfully chummy the past few days."

"N-no." Hinata leaned down and began swiftly tying up one of the bandits. She was blushing so hard she wondered why the snow around her wasn't melting.

"Hn, too bad. You'd make a good couple."

"Wh-what makes you s-say that, Kiba-kun?"

The dog-nin laughed. "Because you're both weird." He moved to another bandit, dodging the knife the other man held lazily before knocking him out. "Besides, he always talks about you."

"He-he does?"

"As much as he talks about anything."

Hinata turned to look at Shino, who was dragging two of the bandits back to the pack horses they had tied up. He liked her? He never said anything about it before.

"You like him?"

The kunoichi stood there, mouth hanging open. If there was any justice in the world, a tree branch would have fallen on Kiba's head at that moment. As it was, he just walked away with a bandit over each shoulder, leaving her standing in the snow.

* * *

"Chichue, what's wrong?"

The quiet question intruded on Hiashi's thoughts. "Nothing, Hanabi," he answered. "Return to you forms."

"It's Hinata, isn't it?" Hanabi's eyes grew distant. "You've been worrying about her lately, I know it."

It surprised him at times, how observant his daughter was for someone her age. "Hinata always worries me."

The young girl shook her head. "Not like this."

"Hanabi." His tone was stern.

With a final, concerned look at her father Hanabi began again, moving fluidly from once stance to another. She surprised him with her progress, though like anyone she had stumbling blocks. When she hit one, she broke it down with single-minded determination. She truly was gifted, advanced for someone her age.

Just as Neji was.

"Enough for today, Hanabi."

Hiashi pretended not to notice the furtive glances his daughter sent his way as she collected her kunai and shoes. The elder Hyuuga walked around the dojo after his daughter left. Weapons stands lined the walls, testament the history of his clan. Everything from simple spears to weapons that require chakra to be activated. Weapons wielded by over ten generations of Hyuugas. It was tradition for the head of the clan to learn how to use all of them, a physical connection to their past.

He had yet to start training Hinata.

He should have, by all rights. Should have begun training her when she turned twelve. It would have allowed her a decade of training, of gaining expertise, before she would be presented to the council.

A council that saw her as unfit.

"You've waited too long, Hiashi."

Hyuuga Hiashi struggled to keep his face devoid of emotion. "I cannot decide until I am certain."

"Certainty is something that cannot always be waited on, Hiashi." Hyuuga Himori let a small amount of amusement color his words. That amusement angered Hiashi, made him feel like a child who was being humored.

"Hinata is weak, we've known this for years. Yet she has improved in recent weeks. Her studies with Neji have proven fruitful." He focused on a spot just above his father's eyes. "She may yet prove herself capable of succeeding me."

He could feel the weight of Himori's stare boring into his chest. "And if she does not? You would leave the future of our family in the hands of someone who cannot defeat her younger sister." His father laughed. "It seems everyone has decided but you. The council has told you its preference."

And that preference was what put him in this position. The council favored Hanabi as heir, despite her youth. "Hinata is too old to take the mark," he argued.

"There have been those who've taken the mark as late as her, and survived." This came from Kaiya, his great aunt.

"It is necessary to ensure no one, in a show of misguided loyalty, attempted to follow Hinata," Haru, his father's advisor said calmly. "The same reason Hizashi was marked so."

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "That was your decision as well, wasn't it?"

"We are not here to discuss the past," Himori broke in. "You have been told our terms. They will be met, or we will make the decision you seem incapable of making yourself."

Hiashi stopped his circuit in front of a small sword stand. The katana belonged to his wife Miyoko, though she never used it for fighting. The blade was pure, it had never been used in battle. He remembered watching his wife practice with it. Even when she was heavy with Hinata and Hanabi her movements had been graceful.

The sword was a heirloom from her family, a reminder of a promise made by them in the forming of Konoha. A promise to never harm unless it was absolutely necessary, to never kill except in the last defense of ones life. The sword was a symbol of that promise. The edge was still deadly sharp, more than capable of killing. He ran a hand over the scabbard, a hairs-breadth from touching the lacquered wood. Twin dragons were inlaid in the black wood, one in gold and one in silver. Beautiful, but useless. The scabbard held only the hilt of the sword.

He buried the blade with his wife.

Before her death, he promised her that no child of there's would become a caged bird. Neither would be forced into a life of unwilling servitude. Until the council began favoring his younger daughter instead of the older, he'd felt secure in that promise. There was no question of birth, no question as to which had been born first. With Hinata firmly at the head of the family, there would be no need for either to be placed in the branch family.

But Hinata had inherited her mother's nature, her desire to be in harmony with everything around her. What he had to do to keep the promise he made to Miyoko was tearing him apart.

"I am trying, koishii," he whispered to the sword.

He just hoped it would be enough.

* * *

Thank you for reading. Special bannana-chocolate blast thanks goes out to Lady of Genesis for the review!

Now, a few definitions:

Kunoichi- female ninja

koishii- beloved.

mochi- one of the most delicious desserts out there. A kind of rice dumpling that can be filled with many things, including ice cream... heavenly :)


	7. The light

Hinata was silent as Hanabi spread salve on her wound. Hinata taught her sister everything she knew of first aid, and like everything she did, Hanabi did it to her best ability.

"I still don't see how he snuck up on you," the younger Hyuuga mused as she bandaged the shallow cut. "Didn't you see him?"

"I wasn't paying attention as I should have been," Hinata answered, turning her head to stare out the window.

"A ninja never lets her guard down until all enemies are accounted for and dealt with," Hanabi recited.

Hinata knew the rule, had known it before her sister was born, but she didn't point out that fact. Her sister wasn't old enough to know that what you were taught seldom had anything to do with what happened on the battlefield. The kunoichi sighed and stretched her legs. The walk back to the village through the snow was tiring. All she wanted to do now was curl into her covers and fall asleep.

"Hinata." Her name was the only warning she had before her father opened the door. Lying as she was, without a shirt or any bindings made her face flame. Thankfully she was lying on her stomach. As long as she didn't move she had nothing to worry about.

Hiashi looked away, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. "Get dressed, Hinata. You have five minutes." Without another word he closed the door.

The kunoichi looked to her sister, but the girl shook her head. "I don't know. Chichue's been acting strange all day."

"Strange?" Hinata pulled on a shirt, tucking the loose material into her pants before pulling on a yukata.

Hanabi began collecting her medical supplies. "Something's wrong, but when I asked him he sent me away."

_He knows. he knows heknowsheknows._ Hinata forced herself to calm down. There was no way he could know, nothing she said or did gave her away. She would have to find a way to explain her pregnancy, but that could wait until after she worked up the nerve to speak to Neji.

Her father was waiting for her when she opened the door. "Chichue, what-"

"Follow me."

Hinata followed her father as they walked through the halls of the Hyuuga compound. The only time she could remember him acting this way was when he came to take her to her mother before she died.

Her father stopped abruptly, and only a sharp pivot on her foot kept Hinata from running into his back. She looked around, and froze. They were standing before the council chamber. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd been here, and each time no good had come of it.

"Chi-Chichue, what's going on?"

He said nothing, only looked down at her. For a moment she thought he was going to say something to her. Instead, his expression became blank, and he opened the door. Later on, when she had time to think about it, Hinata would recognize the look in her father's eyes.

It was pity.

* * *

Neji waited calmly before the council, expression carefully blank as he studied all of them. It was the second time in his life that he was standing before them. The first was after the pre-examination to the third part of the chuunin exam. He'd been there for the council to oversee his punishment for what he'd done to Hinata.

It took two days before his hands stopped shaking.

"You have surpassed our expectations, Neji," Hyuuga Himori said. "Your control over the byakugan, your expertise with the juuken, all speak of your talents. Your father would be very proud."

Neji bowed. "Thank you, Himori-san," he said stiffly, willing his hands to unclench.

"It is truly a shame Hinata inherited none of her father's talent." That came from Kaiya. "Perhaps we made a mistake in allowing Hiashi to marry outside the clan."

"It couldn't be helped," Hyuuga Hatori, the youngest member of the council added. "Hiashi refused any of our choices."

"And we've seen what it's done to our house," Himori finished, his voice grim.

A strange kind of anticipation began to settle in Neji's stomach. It was the same feeling he had when he was on a mission and knew an attack was coming. "Elders, if you wish to discuss these matters privately-"

"You'll stay where you are."

Nine pairs of white eyes settled on Neji at that moment. People not of the Hyuuga clan often talked about how difficult it was to stand under that pupil-less stare without wilting. No one could imagine having the weight of the council focused on them. He could feel them, searching his posture, his eyes, for any sign of weakness. Neji forced himself not to move. If they wanted weakness, they would have to look elsewhere.

"He has his father's fire, Himori." Kaiya was watching him thoughtfully now.

The other council members nodded in assent. Before he could ask what they wanted of him he heard the shoji behind him open. A small gasp was all it took.

Hinata.

Fear, the kind that dried the mouth and turned the muscles to jelly went through him. There was only one reason the two of them would be called before the council.

* * *

Hyuuga Himori looked at his two grandchildren. Neji was standing tall, unwavering before what he must have known could very easily be certain death. Himori frowned. The boy would have been a fine heir, if only he belonged to the main family. Hinata was standing, and that was through only a supreme amount of effort. Still, it was an improvement. A year ago she would have fainted at such a meeting. Perhaps there was enough Hyuuga blood in her to overcome the weakness she inherited from her mother.

"Ai."

The woman, older than even he was, activated her byakugan. A moment later she nodded solemnly. "Aburame was correct, Himori."

Hinata's eyes slid to Neji before fearfully settling on her great aunt. The boy only looked confused. _So, he doesn't know yet._

"Elders, why have you called us here?" Neji asked, his voice steady and calm.

_The boy thinks to play with us, does he? _Himori's jaw tightened. "The patience of this council is very thin, Hyuuga Neji. Tread on it at your own peril."

_That_ took some of the defiance out of him. His eyes slid to his cousin, then back to them. So he was more worried about what the would do to her, than what they planned for him.

Interesting.

"We've known of your affair from the beginning." Hyuuga Hatori's voice was neutral, but it might as well have been a sledgehammer for the two it was directed at. "We allowed you to…continue… because we felt that some good might come from such behavior."

"Our first instinct was to call both of you before us for punishment," Fujita continued. "Such behavior should not go unpunished. Both of you have risked not only your own honor, but that of our entire clan."

"The Hyuuga's are old, but not invincible," Ai's voice was barely above a whisper, a side affect from nearly having her throat slit in her youth. "Do you have any idea of the scandal you would bring down upon us if it were known you were sleeping with each other?"

"Not that much sleeping was involved, from what we understand," Haru added.

Himori watched as Neji stiffened bit by bit, becoming more rigid as each person spoke, his eyes focused straight ahead. Hinata was trembling, a leaf in a high wind. She would be the easiest of them to break.

"Some behavior can be attributed to the stupidity of youth," Kaiya said, sounding bored as usual. "Others cannot be explained away so easily."

"I would have expected the woman who is the heir to our family to understand the importance of upholding our family name, and hold herself to a higher standard." Hinata wilted visibly at the direct attack. Himori's eyes flicked to Hiashi. The man looked murderous. "Instead, she has been sneaking off, abandoning her studies, to sleep with her cousin."

"A young man who should have known better, even if his cousin did not." Contempt colored Hyuuga Rumiko's words. "Who should have lead her to the right path, instead of leading her further into debauchery."

"Ne-Neji-nisan never-"

"Silence."

Hinata's mouth closed with an audible click.

Himori sighed. "For two ninja, you are unbelievably easy to manipulate." Two sets of confused eyes swept over the council. "As was said, we knew when this affair first started. Had we wanted it to stop, we would have stopped you." He waited for the words to sink in. "However, it opened a unique opportunity, one that we were loathe to let pass. And our waiting has yielded the desired result."

Hinata's hands flew to her stomach, her mouth opening slightly.

"An heir to the Hyuuga with Neji's strength would be an asset beyond price."

* * *

Neji was frozen. Himori's words echoed through his mind. He couldn't mean… he…

The boy turned to his cousin. Her eyes were focused on the floor, her hands folded protectively over her stomach. "Hinata?" She flinched at his quiet question.

"While you may be unprepared to deal with this consequence, we are not," Himori continued. "Hinata will marry inside the month, once we are decided on a suitable groom. Your child will be declared the heir upon its birth."

The council kept talking after that, but Neji wasn't listening. After they disbanded Ai, Kaiya, and Rumiko lead Hinata off, while a firm hand lead him in the opposite direction. It wasn't until the cold air hit his face that he realized he was sweating, a light sheen of moisture covering his face.

"Come, Neji." Hiashi walked down the hall without a backwards glance.

Neji followed his uncle, eyes unseeing. Self-consciousness was something the young ninja experienced only rarely, usually when his seal was visible. His hand ghosted up to the wrappings that hid the seal from view when he wasn't wearing his headband. They were still in place.

The cold wood burned his feet, but the rest of him felt too warm. He looked out of the corners of his eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hinata. It was snowing again, odd for a country that expected maybe one snow storm throughout the year. Large flakes drifted down on the slight breeze, so slowly they seemed to be frozen in the night air. _Why didn't she tell me?_ He couldn't understand it. She'd known before Himori announced it, her reaction was not one of complete shock. So why would she keep something that important from him? Neji's mind was reeling.

The blow, when it came, was almost surprising.

Neji's knees buckled as the air was forced out of his lungs. His vision blurred, but before he could hit the floor something grabbed him by the collar.

* * *

Hinata kept her head down as she was poked and prodded by her three aunts. They'd lead her to a room in the older section of the compound, and stripped her almost before they plugged in the small heater. They all talked over her head, asking questions among themselves when they could have gotten the right answer out of her.

Suddenly it was all too much

"Get away from me!"

Hinata pushed away from her aunts and stood there, trembling. The three women were watching her with…amusement? She looked down at herself. She was standing naked, glaring at three of her aunts. Three full grown members of the family council. No wonder they found her funny.

Aunt Ai closed in first, lifting her face so she could look into Hinata's eyes. "So a tiger hides beneath all that kitten fur, does it?"

The girl pulled away, shame turning her cheeks scarlet.

Kaiya dipped her head, trying to make eye contact with her niece. "No need to be embarrassed now, Hianta-chan. We were enjoying your little display of temper."

Her head flew up, her glare returning ten-fold. Little display?

Rumiko smiled, though nothing of humor tinted her eyes. "Himori seemed so sure the child had no fire."

"It won't be the first time he's been wrong," Ai finished.

All three of her aunts smiled at her then, smiles that touched their eyes. Hinata looked between them, confused.

"Here, child," Kaiya held up Hinata's yukata.

She practically snatched the garment out of her aunt's grasp, belting it tightly before turning a wary eye on the three women in front of her.

"Sit." Rumiko gestured to a small table Hinata hadn't noticed. Ai was already there, pouring tea into four cups.

They sat, staring at Hinata until she settled on one of the chairs. She picked up her cup and held it.

"Neji's rather handsome, isn't he?" Ai sipped her tea.

Hinata's hands tightened on her cup.

"Much more handsome than my first husband." Rumiko smiled at her niece.

"If I was fifty years younger, you might have competition."

The young woman sipped her tea, unsure of what to say. They were expecting something out of her, something she wasn't certain she knew how to give.

"I always wondered if that young man would be as exceptional in the bedroom as he was on his missions," Kaiya said dreamily.

Hinata gasped as her tea went down the wrong way. Three sets of hands patted her on her back, muttering soothingly as she tried to catch her breath. _I'm dreaming, _she thought to herself. _I must be._

* * *

Thank you for reading! Special hot apple pie and icecream thanks goes out to kokonutsu, Elisa Ardell, Ah-choo, Lady of Genesis, and sorviball for their reviews!

See something you like? Hate? A place where I blatantly screwed up? Leave a review and let me know! All reviews are placed on a shrine next to my computer for moral support. Flames will be eaten with soy sauce and rum :)

Now, some definitions

Shoji: japanese sliding door, usually made of rice paper panels. can be sheathed in glass to keep out the cold.


	8. Darkness

Neji woke up to pain.

It felt like someone had a vise around his chest, allowing him just enough room to keep breathing. He tried to keep the breathing he could do even and steady. Someone else was in the room. There as a small clicking, a sound of something being poured, the swish of cloth…

"You can open your eyes, Neji."

The boy did, slowly, and saw he was lying on the bed in his apartment.

"If you sit up, the pain will lessen."

"Hiashi-sama?" Neji struggled into a sitting position, one hand curled around his chest. He remembered the blow, the feeling of a foreign chakra entering his system before he lost consciousness. It was the first time he'd experienced the kind of damage the juuken could cause. When he was upright he turned around. Hiashi was sitting near the window, a bottle and two cups near him. "Where's Hinata?"

"Asleep by now. Come." Hiashi filled both cups. "Join me."

Neji shuffled across the room, each step making his breath come a little easier. His uncle wasn't looking at him, instead he was looking outside. "Unusual weather for this time of year."

"Hai, Hiashi-sama." Neji sat down across from his uncle. The bottle was sake, and looked half gone. "Hiashi-sama-"

"Drink."

The boy looked down as Hiashi pushed the cup towards him. He swallowed the contents, coughing as it burned a path down his throat. Strangely enough, the muscles in his chest began loosening. His uncle refilled the cup the moment it touched the table. "Thank you, Hiashi-sama."

" Hinata has been relieved of her duties as a chuunin." The elder Hyuuga's voice was flat, emotionless. "Kurenai will be informed tomorrow after the Hokage has spoken to the council." Hiashi turned to look at him. "Your duties as a jounin will no longer take you outside Konoha's borders."

Neji looked down at his hands. Of course, they would want to keep an eye on him now that he knew the truth. "Has the council decided on who Hinata-sama will marry?"

Hiashi drank his sake. "They have a list prepared, and will present it to her in the next few days. She has final say, of course."

"How does it feel to pander your daughter?" Neji didn't know what possessed him to say it, but once he started he didn't know how to stop. "The council would never have attempted such a scheme unless you were involved, and agreed."

He expected anger. He expected indignation. He didn't expect Hiashi to fold, as if the string holding him upright had been cut. " When your child is born, Neji, you will learn one thing above all others." The older Hyuuga stood and walked to the door, the sound of his cane loud in the quiet room. Once there he paused. "There is nothing you won't do to keep that child safe. Even if it costs you your soul." The door closed whisper soft behind him.

_Or hers._

* * *

Hiashi opened the door to Hinata's room. She was sleeping, still wearing the yukata she'd worn before the council. No doubt the aunts kept her out until the girl could no longer stand on her own before dropping her off. She was on her back, one hand under her head, the other resting on her stomach. Briefly he tried to imagine what she would look like when she began to show her pregnancy.

That child was the only thing keeping her out of the branch family.

"Chichue?"

Hiashi turned at the word. "It's late, Hanabi. You should be in bed."

His daughter peered around him at her sister. "Is Hinata all right?"

"She's fine." Hiashi closed the door. "You have class in less than four hours. You should spend that time sleeping."

Hanabi took a deep breath. "Why won't you tell me what's going on, Chichue?" The young girl studied her father, trying to discern anything. "She's my sister. I have a right to know what's happening to her."

Hiashi said nothing to his youngest daughter as he walked past her. She would find out soon enough what was happening; not all of it, but as much as the village would learn in the following weeks.

"Chichue please!"

The head of the Hyuuga turned at Hanabi's outcry. Hinata was the only mother her sister had ever known. Hanabi was trembling, her eyes shining. She was as near to frantic as he'd ever known her to get. "Hinata will be married in the month," he conceded.

Hanabi relaxed, confusion clouding her expression. "Married? But nee-san's only fifteen." She looked at her sister's door.

"She's old enough, Hanabi. Now, it's late."

For a moment he thought his youngest daughter was actually going to argue with him. Instead, she began walking towards her room. "Hai, Chichue."

Tsunade stared at the Hyuuga family council. It was the first time she really found herself having to deal directly with them. Sarutobi's personal records spoke of walking gently around the village's oldest clan. The Hyuuga were a clan of secrets, and not even her predecessor was privy to all of them, or wanted to be. Tsunade could agree with his reasoning. The few secrets he had known were enough to make a solid ball of dislike form in her chest as she watched the nine men and women in front of her. "And Hinata agrees with this?"

"Yes." Himori answered.

"She understands her duties to her family." Kaiya added.

The Hokage narrowed her eyes the smallest bit. "I'd like to speak with her, to see if she has anyone in mind yet."

Hyuuga Himori nodded in agreement. "As you wish, Hokage."

Tsunade was escorted through the Hyuuga compound by two young ninja, Ujo and Akani, if the faces matched the registries she'd studied. When she finally saw Hinata, she blinked.

Twice.

It was the first time she'd seen the young woman in anything but her ninja garb. At the moment she was wearing a simple shirt and pants, both of which were form-fitting rather than baggy. The material looked quite heavy, but it didn't detract at all from the overall effect. Hinata had hid quite a curvy figure beneath her normally oversized coats. The kunoichi was facing away from her in a courtyard, watching two birds as they idled on a branch. After a few seconds she started, realizing that she was being watched. Her sudden movement caused the two birds to take flight. "Hokage-sama." The girl bowed deeply, hands clasped in front of her.

Tsunade gave Hinata her most disarming smile. "Your grandfather tells me you're getting married soon." She went to stand next to Hinata. "Anyone in mind yet?"

Hinata blushed, the color just staining her pale cheeks. "N-no, Hokage-sama."

The older woman couldn't help but smile. Hinata was entirely too cute when she was embarrassed. "I could give you a few suggestions, if you want. I do have access to everyone's files."

The blush spread from Hinata's cheeks to her whole face, disappearing under the collar of her shirt. "Th-thank you, H-Hokage-sama."

"Maybe you could explain your family's sudden interest in you marrying," Tsunade asked the question with an air of humor. "I mean, it's not like you're an old maid."

Hinata's eyes flashed behind Tsunade, to where the two escorts were waiting at the edge of the garden. She probably didn't even realize what she was doing, but Tsunade did, and she was already adding the observation to her list. It was a trait, the Hokage supposed. A leftover from her days as a medical-nin, when even the smallest symptom could be the difference between life and death. You had to notice the small things. That look was only the barest of seconds, but the meaning behind them was clear. Hinata expected to be watched, probably more so when she was receiving visitors.

"I-I…"

"It is time for Hinata to turn her attention away from being a ninja, and focus on her role as the heir to the Hyuuga clan."

The relief was visible on Hinata's face when she heard her father's voice. Tsunade turned around and marveled at how Hiashi had grown. When she left the village he was barely old enough to be considered a genin. She was really getting old. "It's good to see you again, Hiashi."

He bowed. "I apologize for not being at the meeting earlier, Hokage."

"No need." Tsunade pretended not to notice Hinata edging slowly towards her father. "I was curious when the council invited me." It was more like a politely worded command. "I didn't expect to hear we would be loosing Hinata. She would have been a gifted medical-nin."

"Th-thank you, Hokage-sama." Hinata was all the way behind her father now.

The older woman changed her smile to indulgent. "I hope you find someone who wont take too much advantage of that shyness, Hinata." The girl should have been smoking, her blush was so bright. Tsunade wondered how Hinata would be if she got some sake in her, just enough to lose a bit of her self-consciousness. As it was, she could barely stutter out a reply. " I think I should get back. There's an emissary from the Sand scheduled to arrive today." When Hiashi offered to escort her she held up a hand. "I can find the way. Keep my offer in mind, Hinata." She stepped around the two and headed for her escorts. "Ujo! Akani! Have you ever played strip yon-kim-po?"

* * *

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief when Tsunade was out of sight. She'd hid in the garden because she wanted to be alone. Hanabi practically attacked her when she woke up, full of questions about her marriage and who she was going to choose. After that the aunts cornered her and began pouring over lists of names, most of them people she'd barely glanced at all her life.

She knew people would ask her why she was getting married, her aunts had even given her several answers the night before. But standing in front of the Hokage sent all those answers out of her head. What if it was like that all the time? People who weren't given answers made up their own, and if someone guessed anything close to the real reason…

"You must learn not to cower, Hinata," her father said, his voice flat. "You are the heir to Konoha's noble family." He left without another word

Hinata watched him go with a heavy heart. She _had _cowered behind him, just as she had when she was little. She couldn't help it. If all else failed, she knew he would keep her safe. "Chichue?"

He stopped.

"Arigatou."

Neji had never been so close to committing murder in his life.

He didn't consider those he killed on his missions to be murder. If he didn't kill them, they would certainly try to kill him. It didn't make it any more right, but at least there was provocation. Being hugged by someone couldn't be considered enough reason to kill them. Even if he was crying more than was seemly for a woman, let alone a man.

"We'll miss you, Neji," Gai sobbed, his arm tightening around the younger boy. A little more pressure and the jounin would kill him.

"Thank you, Gai-sensei," Neji managed to wheeze out, forcing his hands to remain at his sides. All it would take was a small blow to the groin, and some of that pressure would be relieved. "But I'm still a member of your team."

"But you cant go with us on the most important of missions. You'll be shackled to the village, unable to assist your teammates when we need you the most, denied the very thing that brings a spark of life to your stark existence…"

Neji stopped paying attention as Gai continued to talk. He could see Tenten just staring, a mix of horror and fascination on her face. No doubt hoping that she never found herself in his position. Lee was standing tall, tears running unheeded down his cheeks. _He_ at least wasn't joining their sensei in his emotional outburst. Maybe he had escaped some of the older man's influence. It wasn't like Neji was about to be sent to his death, he was just being limited in his abilities.

The feeling of hot tears soaking through the shirt to his skin was his breaking point. Lee must have realized it too, because he placed a hand on Gai's shoulder. "We shouldn't embarrass Neji with our grief, Gai-sensei," he said quietly. "It will only break his heart even further when he sees how much we'll miss him."

Gai straightened, and the Hyuuga fought the urge to give himself a hard shake. As the two started talking about the proper ways to show how much they cared about their team mate, most of which involved doing stupid things like swimming up the Tahana river that night, he turned to Tenten. "I'm sorry to leave you with them."

She shrugged. "I'll be okay. We don't get many long-term assignments anyway."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

Neji watched Tenten as she sprinted away from the practice area. Once she was out of sight he cast a final glance at his remaining teammates. Lee was sobbing now, with Gai comforting him. Once again wondering what cruel god decided to place him on _this _ team, he headed back to the village. He still needed to go shopping, unless he wanted to eat instant ramen for dinner.

The streets of Konoha were brown slush, muddy in the middle, lighter where the snow had been pushed into the gutters. He'd have to clean his winter shoes after dinner, else they would have a solid coat of reddish-brown mud. It looked like the village had gotten over its initial dislike of the snow. More people were walking on the streets than he'd seen since the harsh weather set in, probably realizing that they couldn't wait the weather out, not this time.

Neji brought the bare essentials: a large brick of tofu, a freezer bag of vegetables, some tea, and a package of thin-sliced beef. He debated over buying more peanut butter, but decided that he would do real shopping tomorrow. As it was he had enough to make himself a good dinner.

"Damnit, Chouji! That's the last piece of barbeque!"

"You shouldn't stuff yourself like that, you know. You'll just end up in the hospital again, and the doctor said he'd let you suffer next time."

Neji smirked as he walked past the restaurant. Once a week an argument similar to that one could be heard as Shikamaru's team ate dinner together. It didn't matter what restaurant it was, Chouji would always take the last little bit of something, and set his team mates off.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself."

Only a supreme amount of will kept the jounin from jumping. The words were practically breathed in his ear. How Tsunade had managed to get so close to him without him knowing was a mystery he would have to figure out.

The Hokage wasn't wearing the hat and robe of her office. Instead she was wearing trousers and a long-sleeved shirt that managed to show off the greater part of her bosom.

He wondered how the woman avoided frostbite, striding along as she was.

"Dinner?" she cocked her head at the bag he carried.

"For tonight," Neji answered, keeping his pace steady.

Tsunade fell in step with him, her hands in her pockets. "Why do I have a request on my desk, asking that you be limited to B level missions and below?" She kept her tone conversational, but he could hear a hint of exasperation behind her words. "You aren't hurt."

"Hinata is to marry soon," Neji's voice was emotionless. " The council wants me on hand."

Tsunade nodded. "So it wasn't your decision?"

"No."

"If you don't want your mission limited, they don't have to be, Neji." Tsunade was looking at him now.

Neji stopped in front of his building. "I agree with the council's decision, Hokage."

The woman examined him a moment. "If you say so. I just don't like having one of my best ninja taken out of commission for no reason."

Tsunade watched as Neji walked into his building. She didn't like puzzles, especially ones like the Hyuuga. Something was going on, something they were trying hard to keep under control. The Sand emissary was there for the Hyuuga, and she'd seen her escorted there before she hunted down Neji. The pieces the Hokage had weren't fitting together, and the few that did fit were confusing.

_Damn, it's cold_, she thought to herself as she headed back to her office. She really needed to invest in shirts that had a little more material in the chest area, but even as she complained she knew she wouldn't.

After all, when you got it, you flaunt it.

* * *

"Hinata?"

The kunoichi jumped when she heard Neji's voice from the door of the kitchen. She hadn't expected him to be home for another thirty minutes, and she was so involved in what she was doing that she'd missed the door opening.

"Ne-Neji-nisan."

He was staring at the kitchen, and she scooted the ladle she was holding onto the counter. She'd decided that she was going to make Neji dinner, and let herself into his apartment when she found he wasn't there. Still, just because she was cooking didn't mean he had the right to look like he'd walked into a disaster area. It wasn't _that_ bad, not really. She just had trouble finding a few things, and hadn't found the time to put everything up.

"You're cooking for me?" He asked, setting down his grocery bag.

"Um," she turned back to the stove, busying herself with stirring the miso and making sure the food didn't stick to anything. She wanted to pull at the shirt she wore, which stopped just above her backside, when she felt his eyes settle there before ghosting away. She listened as he moved in the kitchen behind her, putting up the things he'd bought. Or trying to. When she saw his kitchen was nearly bare she went ahead and shopped for him. The once empty cabinets were filled, as was his refrigerator and freezer.

Hinata tried to say something to him as he walked out of the kitchen, but she couldn't. It felt like something was blocking her throat, making all the words stick. So she busied herself with setting everything on the table, making sure nothing was out of place. Despite the mess of the kitchen, she was proud of her cooking. Her mother kept a book of recipes, and Hinata knew each of them by heart. She'd made the tastiest: fried tofu with black bean sauce, barbequed spicy chicken and daikon radish, silver noodles with beef curry. It was more than the two of them could eat, but at least Neji wouldn't have to cook for a few days.

Hinata was sitting at the small kitchen table when Neji reappeared, his hands and face pink from scrubbing. "You didn't have to do this, Hinata," he said as he sat across from her.

In answer she handed him a bowl of miso soup.

They didn't talk through dinner, and she was grateful for it. It gave her time to think about what she needed to say. Hinata smiled as she watched his reaction to her cooking. He stopped after the first bite, then took another, larger one. Very likely he didn't even know she knew how. When it was clear he wasn't going to eat anymore she gathered up their plates and started for the sink.

"Why didn't you tell me?"  
The plates balanced on her hands crashed to the floor.

"S-sorry, Ne-neji," Hinata muttered as she began gathering the shards. She winced as a large one stabbed into the heel of her hand.

Neji's hands closed over hers. "You're hurt," was all he said as he lead her to the sink. The wound wasn't deep, but it bled freely when he pulled the piece of white porcelain out.

"I di-didn't wa-want to lose you, Neji," Hinata began. "Wh-when Shino-k-kun told me I… I ju-just…"

"Shino knows?"

Hinata hung her head. "Th-the kikai. That's why he was sick. They didn't wa-want me to go on a mission pregnant." She looked up at him, forcing herself not to stutter. "I-I wanted to tell you, I just didn't know how. An-and then I had the mission, and Chichue told me to come with him, and…"

She stopped talking when Neji didn't say anything. He was just watching her, his eyes empty. She remembered the last time he looked at her like that. It was before their fight in the chuunin exam. The kunoichi looked away.

Neji began cleaning the wound on her hand, letting the blood flow to make sure no shards were left. Swiftly, it was cleaned and bandaged, and she was being pushed to a chair. Hinata looked around the apartment as he cleared the table. There was nothing out of place. Even the small plants on the window sill were orderly. Nothing of her cousin showed through. It was as if he didn't expect to be there long, and wanted to leave as little of himself behind as possible.

His room in the Hyuuga compound had been much the same.

* * *

_I didn't want to lose you…_ _I didn't want to lose you…_

Neji cleaned the kitchen, aware of Hinata behind him, watching him. That feeling of someone just about to touch him was there, enough to raise the hair on his arms. He tsked as he scrubbed at a spot of dark, sticky _something_ that stained his stove. For someone who could cook so well, Hinata was a terror on his kitchen. This morning everything was neat, nothing out of place. It looked like his cousin had gone through every drawer, every cabinet. Ingredients were spilled on the counters, some had dripped to the floor.

_I didn't want to lose you…_

An heir to the Hyuuga with Neji's strength would be an asset beyond price…

He felt it when Hinata stood and walked towards him her slow pace making the muscles of his back and shoulders tense.. Felt her pause before she wrapped her arms around him, her forehead between his shoulder blades.

Thank you for reading! Special redbean mochi-ice thanks goes out to Chiaki, Kaiyo No Hime, coldblood, Lady of Genesis, Popples, Elisa Ardell, MommyRogers, Crystalline Tears, Dark Wings, Lil'Monk, sorviball, Ah-Choo, and last but not least kokunutsu for your great reviews! THanks guys!

Okay, you know the drill. See anything wrong... leave a review. See something that shouldn't be there... leave a review. Just like what you see... leave a review. All reviews are placed on a shrine near my computer for moral support. Flames will be eaten with soy sauce and rum :)


	9. Cold consequences

Temari hated snow. It clung to everything, and settled with a cold, wet weight in her shoes, making them twice as heavy. She flexed them, feeling the stiff joints pop as heat found its way into her feet. On her journey to the Leaf she prayed that, as she moved further north and east, her toes wouldn't snap off at the joints. She'd been partially prepared to make the three day journey, wearing stout, fur-lined shoes and warmer clothes to keep out the worst of the chill. But shehadn't counted on the continuous snowfall during the evenings.

_Stupid Gaara,_ she thought as she sank into a tub with a heartfelt sigh. If it wasn't for his insistence that she serve as his emissary she would be at home, where the weather was warmer and the sky wasn't perpetually overcast. But no, he'd decided that, since the Hyuuga were kind enough to send their own messenger to the Sand, that he should extend them the same kindness and respect.

_All this just to say thanks, but no thanks. Che… he could have written them a card._

The Hyuuga for their part were gracious, receiving her like long lost relative and ushering her into a guesthouse to recover from her journey the moment she arrived. Temari wanted to tell them to shove it, to deliver her message and head home, but being an emissary required that she follow the rules of etiquette. Besides, nothing beat a hot bath after a cold journey.

Marriage. She still couldn't believe it. Three months ago the Hyuuga began limited marriage negotiations with the elders of the Sand on behalf of their oldest daughter. When their agent first arrived, she'd been skeptical. Why would a leading house of another village want to marry their heir outside their village, especially to Gaara? Temari had vaguely remembered the girl, all pale skin and large eyes, too timid to really have a future as a shinobi.

Temari almost choked on her tea the day Gaara asked her if she thought him too young to marry.

"_You…you're really considering this, Gaara?"_

_The red-head just looked at her. "You thought I wasn't?"_

_Temari shook her head. "You're fifteen." _And I'm seventeen, and there's no way you're getting married before I do.

_Gaara shrugged. "The previous Kazekage was sixteen when he married mother."_

_The blond kunoichi decided that she must have fallen through a hole and landed in an alternate dimension. There was no other way to describe the conversation she was having."Times were different then. The Sand was struggling not to collapse after our lord crippled us with his lack of funding." _

_Her younger brother looked out the window of his office. It was much changed from the closeted, windowless room their father had made it. The first thing Gaara did when he was raised Kazakage was install those large windows so he could see his village. "It would tie us closer to the Leaf, make them more trusting of us and our motives. The Hyuuga are considered a noble family of Konoha."_

_A large part of Temari wanted to put her hands over her ears and run away. The change in her brother since the battle with Konoha had been extraordinary, more than anything she would have wished for, but this? Gaara discussing marriage? Weighing the political pros and cons? _

_The girl felt a tingle between her shoulder blades. He was watching her, his green eyes flat. "You don't agree?"_

"_Do you even remember what she looked like?"_

_Her brother's pale eyes unfocused. "Yes. She was delicate. Pretty. She fought well against her cousin, even though she lost."_

_Gaara… the Sand's Gaara… thought someone was pretty? She was going to have a long talk with Kankuro later on, about when exactly she stopped knowing their younger brother. He always swore, even when Gaara was the most dangerous person either of them knew, that his little brother was just like any other male. That he might kill indiscriminately, but wasn't it odd that none of them were attractive women? He'd even gone as far as to only maim one of the assassins their father sent after him, stopping at destroying her hands beyond repair._

_Damn it, she owed the puppet-master a thousand yen._

Two weeks ago, the young Kazekage decided that he wouldn't marry, not yet at least. He was still trying to win the trust of his village, and while marriage _might_ make them see him as more human, marrying outside the Sand might have the opposite effect.

"He should've sent Kankuro," Temari muttered as she dried herself off. "_He_ at least likes this miserable village."

* * *

"_NEJI-NISAN!!!!"_

_Neji turned around to see his cousin running towards him at top speed. Her kimono was hiked up above her knees in one hand, a box held in the other. His eyes narrowed at her behavior. She was ten, old enough to know better than to run screaming through the family compound._

_Hinata came to an abrupt stop two feet from him, face flushed, eyes shining. Some of the excitement left her face when she noticed how he was looking at her. When he said nothing her head bent, her fingers trying to smooth the wrinkled material of her kimono._

"_He-here, Ne-Neji-nisan," Hinata held out the box._

_It wasn't very large, about the size of her palm on all sides. Gold paper made the box glint in the sunlight, a silver bow two sizes too large flopped over the sides of the top._

"_Ha-happy birthday."_

_He blinked. It was his birthday, but he hadn't expected anyone to remember, not really. Only three other people had mentioned it, all of them from the branch family. When he took the box she smiled at him and scurried away, disappearing around a corner. Neji watched her go, frowning. This was the girl to lead the Hyuuga after Hiashi? She would be a mouse when the family needed a lion. A part of him told him it wasn't his concern. Fate had decided to place the girl at the head of the family after her father. Whatever disaster resulted from that, it was nothing more than they deserved._

_Neji continued to the small set of rooms he shared with his mother. She was sitting, working on embroidery. She was the best in Konoha, the intricate designs she created and sewed saved them from being completely dependant on the main family for support. She smiled when the door opened, her eyes going to his hands. "Oh, who gave you a present?" Her hands never slowed._

"_Hinata-sama."_

_Sachiko's smile grew. "She likes you, you know."_

_Neji shrugged. He knew Hinata liked him, even though he showed no interest in her. More than once he caught her watching him from around a corner or behind a door.  
"Well, are you gonna open it, or not?" his mother teased. "You can save  
it until tonight if you want."_

_Neji walked into his room with the sound of his mother's laughter following him. He closed the door and stared stonily at the box in his hands._

Neji woke up to the feel of hair tickling his nose. A quick glance at the bedside clock and made him sigh.. It was nearly midnight. Hinata should have been home hours ago. Something glinted in the half light, and Neji's eyes focused on it. Next to the clock stood the present she'd given him for his eleventh birthday. The dragon was small, but perfect in every detail, the scales and claws gilded in gold accenting the pure whiteness of it's body, the jade green of its eyes. He'd seen the figurine in one of the more expensive shops, but despaired over the price. Until he became a genin and began earning wages, such things would be out of his reach. Hinata must have followed him, saw what he wanted, and brought it for him.

He remembered tearing open the gold paper, wondering what trinket or useless object the Hyuuga heir thought he would want. When he lifted the lid on the box he nearly dropped the porcelain figurine in his surprise. It was more beautiful up close than it had been in the store window. He remembered the anger the welled up in him, that she could buy him something on a whim that it would take him many missions to pay for. He was close to doing something childish, like throw to offensive gift away, when he saw the small note tucked into the box.

_Happy Birthday, Neji-nisan. I hope Haku brings you luck on your graduation exam tomorrow._

Haku?

It had taken him a full minute to realize she was talking about the dragon.

A small sound escaped his cousin, and a smile curved his mouth before he could fight it down. Hinata was half sprawled on top of him, one arm thrown across his chest. His hand tightened around her waist, the roughness of his fingers scratching against the wool of her shirt. They weren't supposed to be in bed together, dressed or not, but it seemed like no matter what he did, they ended up there anyway.

He hadn't moved when Hinata pressed her forehead to his back in the kitchen, arms wrapped around his waist. He wanted to show her that he couldn't give her what she wanted, what she needed. Even when her arms started trembling he held still, determined not to give her any reaction. It would be easier on her in the long run, if she learned early on that he couldn't be there for her as she wanted.

It was the tears that broke him.

He smelled them first, a flash of salt in the air that hadn't been there before. A few seconds later her arms tightened convulsively. He tried to pry her loose then, to turn around, but she was stronger than he would have given her credit for.

"I'm sorry…please Neji…please…don't leave me…I need you…I'll do anything…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" The words were whispered to his back, he could feel her mouth as it moved, feel the moist warmth through his shirt. He turned around then, so abruptly that Hinata let go and backed up. Her pale eyes stared up at him, full of unshed tears. As he watched one of those dams burst, sending a warm trail down her cheek. _You have nothing to be sorry for._

The words stuck in his throat.

Neji reached out and cupped her cheek, using his thumb to wipe at the trail. In an instant she was in his arms, burrowing her forehead into his shoulder. He tried to tell himself he didn't like the way she clung to him, as if she'd never let him go. He tried to tell himself he didn't like the way she needed him. He tried to tell himself he didn't like the fact that, despite everything that happened between them, she still wanted him.

Feeling wanted was something foreign to him. No one had wanted him during his childhood,not really. His mother was there for him, but she was the only one. For the branch family he was a sign of what they couldn't have; a constant reminder that no matter how far they advanced, how talented they were, being in the branch family meant they were caged. The main family saw him as a sign of their weakness, a mirror for them to hold Hinata up to and find her wanting.

She was crying in earnest now, the sound making a hollow ball form in his chest. Without thought he picked her up and carried her to his bed, laying her down carefully. He sat beside her, combing his fingers through her hair. It was longer than it had been, the bluish locks falling nearly to her shoulders. When she fell asleep he finished cleaning the kitchen, listening to make sure she didn't wake up and find him gone. After, tired from his day and the massive cleaning, he decided to lay down, just for a while.

Which was why he woke up next to her four hours later.

Hinata shifted, her knee sliding up his leg and teasing at his groin, the heat of her thigh spreading through his pants. Neji cursed as he felt a familiar tingle begin to spread through him. Even in her sleep, his cousin had the ability to inflame him. Carefully, he slid from the bed.

"Neji?" Hinata lifted her head, eyes blurry from sleep.

"It's late, Hinata. I'll walk you home." He was already exchanging his wrinkled shirt for another. In what seemed like record time he was dressed, forehead protector in place. Hinata waited for him by the door, a heavy coat draping her to the knees.

The village was hardly quiet, at least in the areas they found themselves walking through. The fastest way to the Hyuuga compound was through downtown, where the clubs lining the main street would be full of people on a Friday night. His hopes of taking Hinata home without incident were crushed when he heard his sensei's voice behind them.

"Neji!" He froze. The hope that his paranoia was causing an auditory hallucination was dashed when Gai continued. "It's rare to see you walking about Konoha at this time of night, enjoying the liberties of youth!"

It was the liberties of youth that made hot color rush to his face, color he ruthlessly fought down before he turned around, and wished he hadn't. It wasn't just Gai, the fates weren't that kind to him. Kurenai and Kakashi flanked his sensei, though they looked like reluctant partners. From the way the Copy-nin was looking around, he saw this as the prime opportunity to escape his rival.

"Good evening Gai-sensei, Kurenai-san, Kakashi-san." Nothing of his discomfort showed in his voice. Next to him Hinata was moving, bit by bit backing away to fit partially behind him as she said her own greeting.

"Hinata." Kurenai smiled sadly at her former student. "I was sorry when Tsunade told me you're leaving the life of a ninja behind."

The statement brought three very different reactions. Hinata stopped her slow retreat and stood as if rooted to the spot. Kakahi's eye widened slightly, a quiet 'oh' the only other sign he heard what was said. Gai jumped back, horror written across his face.

"Hinata, I can't be so! It's true that you are lacking in some abilities, but that's no reason to give up on your dreams! You must fight for what you believe in. Kurenai has told me her joy at your continued improvement under the guidance of Neji, you can't stop that progress short now!"

It was amazing, really, how you could see Hinata's blush moving up from her collar and disappearing into her hairline. The thought that he knew exactly how far down that blush extended made Neji shift.

"She's leaving because she's getting married, Gai. She's not giving up," Kurenai clarified.

Gai, who was still going on about the virtues of hard work, stopped mid-word. It struck Neji as odd that, no matter how embarrassing his actions were to those around him, Gai himself never seemed to get embarrassed. As it was, the look of outrage melted from his features, and he smiled indulgently. "Congratulations, Hyuuga Hinata, on your upcoming nuptials," he said formally. "Might I ask who the lucky groom is?"

The man had a split personality, that was the only explanation.

"The council has yet to decide," Neji answered, noting his cousin's look of panic. "I also ask, Gai-sensei, that you not spread the news around just yet. The council is waiting to make a formal announcement."

"The secret will be safe with me," Gai intoned grandly. "I shall carry it with me to my grave."

_I can only hope so,_ Neji thought.

"Hinata looks tired, Neji-kun," Kakashi said, his voice containing its usual disinterest. "It's late, you should get her home."

The shinobi made a mental note to thank Kakashi for his insight at a later date. As it was, his sensei was working himself into a fine fit for having delayed his student's journey and exposed the already delicate Hyuuga heir to his brash tongue. Neji just started to walk away. Gai would go on whether or not they were there.

* * *

Gai stopped talking the moment his student was out of ear-shot. " Did they explain why the rush to marry her so soon, Kurenai?"

The kunoichi shook her head. "No explanation, other than it was time she focus on her duties as heir." she turned to the Green Beast. "Any explanation about Neji?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, not even an half-handed excuse."

"I can think of several reasons for the Hyuuga's to marry off their heir so young," Kakashi said from behind the latest volume of Make Out Paradise.

"No," Kurenai looked down. "I doubt it was something like _that_. Hinata can't even talk about the human body without blushing. If she was in trouble with anyone, it would be Kiba, and the Hyuuga haven't demanded he be skinned alive."

"Besides, if that were the case why would the try to marry her off to the Sand? It would make too much bad blood." Gai added.

The silver-haired jounin shrugged. "Tsunade said to be discreet. Can you manage that Gai?"

The black-haired nin smiled, a smile that few people ever got to see. Those who did could only describe it as being mischievous… demonically so. "Of course, Kakashi."


	10. Speak

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief as Temari announced her brother's refusal of the wedding proposal. Well, as much of a sigh as she could muster in her formal kimono. Her father looked at her out the corner of his eye, and she thought his mouth tugged into the barest of smiles before he turned his attention back to the Sand-nin.

More than a year had passed since she'd last seen Temari, when the Rain had hosted the first chuunin exam after the Sound's attack on Konoha. The blonde kunoichi passed easily, her and her siblings. She knew that Temari was Gaara's older sister, though by how much she wasn't sure. Gaara himself was her age, perhaps older by a few months. She remembered his eyes the most: pale, cloudy jade that seemed to see through everything around him. Those eyes settled on her once, and froze her in place. If Sakura hadn't nudged her out of the way she would have been run over by a rickshaw.

When the aunts showed her his picture that morning, it was hard to reconcile the strangely peaceful, collected person in that photo with the image in her head.

The dark haired nin watched Temari through her eyelashes while she kept her hands folded neatly in her lap, head down; the picture of the demure woman. Temari was anything but. Her clothes, which today didn't include the ripped fishnets, were still more daring that anything Hinata owned, managing to reveal a lot of bosom and leg without being overly scandalous. Her fan was folded at her side, as was proper for a ninja in an audience with her superiors, but that was the only sign that she acknowledged them as being her superiors. Temari exuded confidence, a person who knew her place, accepted it, and forced others to accept it as well.

When the blond kunoichi stood and walked out of the council chamber Hinata had the urge to run after her, to grab her ninja gear and go with the Sand-nin to her village.

"It is regrettable, the refusal, but expected," her grandfather was saying to the council.

"Still, the seed has been planted," Rumiko sighed as she stood.

Kaiya followed suit. "You can breathe again, Hinata. The trial is over."

Hinata fought down the flush that the laughter of her family members brought, crowing an internal victory when it stopped short of her chin. She was getting better at controlling herself.

"The Sand knows we are willing to intermarry. _That_ is what is important." Fujita caught Hinata's eye. "We still have years yet, and so does he."

It was strange, how in less than a week she was beginning to understand the more subtle maneuverings of the council. The invitation to the Sand wasn't for her benefit, it was for Hanabi's. Let the Sand know that the Hyuuga were willing to make a political alliance with their heir to show their seriousness. A clever trap, she had to admit. She just hoped Gaara was smart enough to see it before it was too late. Then again, maybe it would be best for Hanabi to get as far away from the Hyuuga as was humanly possible, before they could enmesh her further in one of their schemes. Being married to the Kazekage could prove to be the lesser of two evils.

"Come Hinata."

The kunoichi followed her father out of the council chamber and through the compound. The sky was clear for the first time in days, but it was still cold. Patches of snow lingered on the ground, thicker in the shadows.

"They plan to marry Hanabi into the Sand."

Hiashi didn't slow down. "Not all marriages can be love-matches, Hinata. Very few in our positions have that luxury."

_You did,_ the words hovered on the tip of her tongue. _Uncle Hizashi did._

_Neji will._

_

* * *

_

"I'll kill him."

Temari stared at the missive in her hands, as if she could change the words by sheer force of will. She recognized her brother's exact writing, _ordering_ her to remain in Konoha and act as an ambassador for the Sand. He didn't even try to soften the blow with flowery excuses, or totted the necessity of having a physical connection to their closest ally. The message was short and to the point. She was to remain in the Leaf, indefinitely, as a show of good faith.

It was times like these that made her life suck.

"When did this arrive?" The Sand-nin asked the Hokage.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Today. Didn't the Kazekage tell you?"

Today. That meant he'd already decided on this before he sent her to the Hyuuga. That was why he sent her instead of Kankuro, even knowing how much she hated this village. Once she was in Konoha she couldn't argue with him about it, couldn't do anything but follow his orders unless she wanted to cause problems between the two villages. She had to hand it to her little brother, he'd maneuvered her into a corner.

"Not happy?"

"Hell no," the words slipped out before Temari could stop herself.

Tsunade laughed. "It wont be that bad. You'll actually have an assistant… of sorts."

The Sand-nin's eyes widened as the door to Tsunade's office opened, revealing a slouched figure leaning against the opposite wall. Even if she didn't recognize that expression of perpetual boredom, the spiky ponytail was a dead giveaway. "You!"

"I see you remember him."

Temari stared at the boy. She'd had to fight him, had been outsmarted by him: by a boy who wasn't even taking the exam seriously, who gave up because the whole thing bored him. Her only regret during the second chuunin exam was that she was unable to beat him there, to prove to him that she was smarter than he was. _He'd _already advanced. Saving his life wasn't enough, she wanted to show that from beginning to end, she was better than he was.

"Eh, Tsunade, she's the reason I'm here?"

A vein in the Hokage's forehead began to pulse. "What did we discuss last week about respect, Shikamaru?"

The chuunin sighed, then turned his attention to Temari. "I'm your advocate in the village. You need anything, you come to me."

If it wasn't for little things like decorum, the blond would have made a satisfying Shikamaru-shaped hole in the wall. As it was, she settled for quiet disdain. "To you?"

He rubbed the back of his head, his eyes angled towards the ceiling. "Well, just for the things you cant figure out yourself-"

"Shikmaru!"

Temari counted backwards from ten. Then twenty. Then fifty. Nope, she still wanted to blast him through a wall. "I'll try my best," she ground out, fingers tightening on her fan.

Tsunade stood and began ushering her towards the door. "Well, you have things to discuss, so…" the door slammed behind them before she could finish the sentence. Temari didn't blame her. Holes in walls were hard to fix.

The Leaf-nin started walking down the long hallway that lead to the Hokage's office, hands stuffed firmly in his pockets. "Come on. I'm supposed to show you your quarters."

_I'll skin him, then I'll kill him._ The thought of Gaara, skinless, begging for his life wasn't as pleasing as she thought, so the blond focused on other things. "So, when'd they spring this detail on you?"

"This morning." Shikamaru waved his hand negligently. "You just find out?"

"Yes." Temari looked around, for once noticing the layout of the place. She never paid attention before. Now, it seemed, she needed to learn it. "They should've sent Kankuro."

Shikamaru shook his head. "He wouldn't work here. Too high-strung."

Temari blinked. Kankuro was high-strung? He was almost as lazy as the boy next to her.

" He likes picking fights, being an ass. Besides, you're a better strategist."

The irritation she felt at the rush of warmth his comment brought made her snap, "He likes this excuse for a village, I don't."

For the first time the Leaf-nin turned and looked at her. "Yeah, you do." There wasn't any heat to the words, anything that made him sound like he was arguing. He'd said it as if it were a statement of fact, one that he knew, and didn't need to prove to anyone.

Damn it, she hated it when people saw through her.

The walk through Konoha was quiet. Occasionally she saw children playing ninja as they bounced off buildings and awnings. Some genin were clearing the snow drifts, using fire jutsus to evaporate the water. Mostly the piles of snow ended up running into the center of the streets and down the drains that weren't blocked. It was then that Temari noticed it, the thing that put her on edge, the something that made her hate the village and everything in it.

She couldn't hear the wind.

In her village, it was always there; now harder, now softer, but nevertheless constant. She'd heard it from the time she was born, and hoped to hear it when she died. But here, in Konoha, the wind was silent. A breeze blew now and again, but not with the same power as in her country. They were away from the hustle of downtown now, the only sound the creaking of tree branches. It was quiet here, too quiet.

"Eh, you okay?"

Temari jumped. "Fine," she answered quickly.

"Good." Shikamaru gestured to the building they were stopped in front of. "Because this is your place." He tossed her the keys to the door and moved aside.

She caught the keys without thinking. Her place? For the first time she looked at the building they were standing in front of. It was a house: modest, one story. She'd actually walked up the short path to the door without even realizing it. She turned the key and walked in.

"Tsunade said the fridge was stocked with basics, but anything else you need you'd have to get yourself. Towels, toiletries, just about everything is already here. You things arrived an hour ago." If he managed to sound more bored, it would be a feat of epic proportions.

There were boxes stacked neatly in the living room, already marked. _Bedroom, clothes, bathroom, kitchen_, all in her brother's handwriting. Knowing him, he'd hand-packed everything the minute she stepped out of the village.

The manipulative little runt.

"Well, I'll leave you to get settled. My number's on the fridge if you need it, along with my address. Welcome to Konoha." Shikamaru walked out the door before she could say a word.

Temari took in her new surroundings. She was living on her own, for the first time that she could remember. It felt strange, knowing that Kankuro wouldn't burst into the room at any moment, ready to show her some new skill he managed to create, to share some piece of info he managed to pry out of the ANBU. Gaara wouldn't be there either, watching her with his pale eyes, as if he were afraid that, if he didn't, she'd disappear.

She opened the first box, marked bedroom. There, on top of her favorite sheet set, was a flower. The vibrant red bloom with its pure black center was rare in the desert. They refused to grow in the greenhouses, so she had to wait until early spring to pick those she could find in the high country and preserve them. How her brother found one so early in the season she didn't know.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't that bad a runt.

* * *

She was there again.

Kakashi leaned against a tree, arms folded, as he watched the girl. Hyuuga Hinata was a slight thing, virtually invisible most of the time. Looking at her, he wouldn't have thought she'd go as far as she had. People who didn't like violence, who were timid, didn't advance very far in their world. He was amused when he found out she followed him, more so when he realized that she managed to do it without his knowing. His own students hadn't been able to do that, not even Sasuske. Jounin had failed in tracking him down, but she did it without trying. It was a shame something like that couldn't be taught. ANBU would kill to have someone with half her talent.

Gai hadn't found out anything, nor had Kurenai. Almost a week to the day Tsunade called the three jounin into her office, and they had nothing to show for it. There were no rumors surrounding the girl, no boyfriend, nothing. Kakashi shook his head. No one was that pure, not at her age. Maybe she didn't pant after anything in pants like some girls, but there had to be something.

The fact that she came to the shrine proved it.

The structure was old, built by the first Hokage. It was so small, so deep in the forest surrounding Konoha, that most people didn't know it was there unless they happened by it. He'd known about it for years, ever since his father died, but he hadn't felt drawn to it until after Obito's death. It was the purpose of the shrine: a place where those who had a weight on their soul could go to pray, and not just any weight. It had been years since a Hyuuga came to the shrine, not since Hiashi came every day for a month after the death of his brother.

"Anything, Kurenai?"

The kunoichi dropped out of the tree he was standing under. "If I had a camera, I would have taken a picture of Kiba and Shino when she told them the news. I've never seen an Aburame show that much emotion."

And that was four days ago.

_"What! What d'you mean, you're getting married!"_

_Kiba was practically beside himself as he stared, disbelieving, at his teammate. Hinata glanced up at him before her eyes focused on a spot just in front of her toes. "I-I.."_

_"When, Hinata?"_

_Shino's quiet question bolstered the girl. "The c-council hasn't decided yet." _

That brought on another round of shouting from Kiba, mostly about the gall of her family thinking they could choose the person she was going to marry, and why did she stand for it. Shino just stared at her from behind his glasses.

_Both reactions were exactly what Kurenai had been expecting._

"_You even get to say yes or no to those bastards?"_

_"Y-yes, Kiba-kun." Hinata's fingers curled in the sleeves of her long coat. "I have final say on their decisions."_

_Shino, for his part, looked relieved that she had at least that much power, and offered his congratulations. Kiba wasn't convinced. _

"They better not set you up with an asshole," he growled, a sentiment that Akamaru seconded. "I'd hate to have to kick his ass before you got married."

The gruff show of emotion made Hinata smile. "Th-thank you, Kiba-kun."

"Well," Kurenai broke in after they hugged their good-byes. "We have work to do, getting used to the new formation." She smiled at her former student. "Good luck, Hinata. Keep us posted."

"Aa."

"Well, maybe the Hokage's just being paranoid," Kakashi pulled out his book. It was the final chapter of Make Out Paradise. He'd waited patiently for Jaraiya to come out with a new volume, but the old man disappointed him. The copy-nin guessed that having Naruto tagging along was slowing him down.

That brought on a torrent of thoughts he tried to avoid. Team seven: Naruto, Sakura. Sasuske. The first team who ever managed to make it past his survival training. He'd had high hopes for them, higher than he'd had for anyone in a long time. Each of them had unlimited potential. In retrospect, he wondered if they should have been given to someone else. Someone who could have shown Naruto the control he needed, who could have worked with Sakura, who could have helped Sasuske.

Sasuske.

A wonderful example of doing too little, too late.

He _should_ have built them into a team, should have broken the two boys of their combative tendencies towards each other. Should have snapped Sakura out of her mooning over Sasuske and forced her to become a responsible member of their team. But he'd always been a believer in everyone moving at their own pace. When you didn't let people grow naturally, you ended up with fragments. Perfectly fine fragments, but they didn't add up to a real person when you put them together. Itachi was the perfect example of someone who advanced too quickly, who stopped being a person and became nothing but his potential as a killer. Kakashi was another.

The only difference was that _Itachi_ didn't play like he was normal.

Kakashi wasn't surprised when the teenager killed his entire clan, not really. What did you expect from someone who started killing when he was only seven years old? Who started hunting other ninja when he was thirteen? Itachi was the reason age restrictions were now placed on those who wanted to become ninja. No one under the age of twelve could advance to genin. That one regulation had, in his mind, saved more people from death and madness than all the medical-nins in the village combined.

Eventually, Sasuske would have seen that Naruto wasn't his enemy; would have allowed himself to grow naturally instead of rushing ahead, unsuccessfully at that. Naruto would have calmed down enough in his search to become Hokage that he realized he needed to learn to walk before he could run. Sakura would snap out of her Sasuske-induced haze and understand that she needed to rely on herself, not those around her. All he had to do was wait. Unfortunately, the world wouldn't wait for them.

Team seven was the most recent reason he found himself at the shrine more often than not.

Kakashi looked up when he felt someone approaching.

"Shino?" Kurenai breathed the word.

* * *

_Hinata was drunk. _

It wasn't her first time drinking sake. Her father allowed her to take a small drink from his cup every New Year since she turned eight. She looked forward to that night every year because, for that one moment, she could pretend that her father loved her best.

Today had nothing to do with love.

It was the anniversary of her mother's death.

That _would have been enough to drive most people to drink, but that wasn't all. This morning, while she was walking through the compound, she overheard two of her uncles talking. She would have turned around and headed back down the small hallway if she hadn't heard her name. As she listened, dread came over her. They weren't discussing her training with Neji, her improvement over the past months. They were discussing her position in the main family, and wagering on how long she would remain in it. _

There were two times in Hinata's short life when it felt like the ground disappeared out from under her. The first was when she realized her mother wasn't just sleeping after a hard delivery. The second, when she heard her father wash his hands of her in favor of Hanabi; the same day he didn't show up for her graduation from the ninja academy.

Today was proving to be the third.

She reached for the bottle of sake, annoyed when she misjudged the distance and the bottle tipped over. She righted it before too much of the liquid could spill on the earthen floor. After overhearing Uncle Fujita and Uncle Hatori she snuck into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle and a cup. She knew she couldn't drink in her room; eventually someone would come knocking and she'd be found out. So she shoved her prize into a carryall and headed out of Konoha.

They'd found the shack one day while she was practicing her tracking skills. It had only one large room, with a small fireplace and a pile of blankets folded neatly in a corner. In another corner there was a large case full of medical equipment; everything from needles and thread to atropine and paddles. A stop for ANBU or other ninja coming home from long-distance missions who needed rest or medical attention that couldn't wait until they reached Konoha. For the moment, it was hers.

Two months. That's how long Uncle Fujita said she was to be a member of her own family. Two months, before her father would officially announce Hanabi as his heir. Uncle Hatori didn't think it would be so short, since her father had been stalling for a long time. Why would he suddenly announce something the council had been pushing him to for years?

Years.

Years since everyone in the family thought she should be disposed of and Hanabi allowed to be heir. Years since her father had ignored her, looked over her to her sister. Years where it was clear who his favorite was.

The small porcelain cup made a satisfying crash as it hit the wall in a shower of white shards. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. She wasn't going to cry, not for them, not because of them. Never again.

"Hinata."

She looked up, bleary eyed. Neji was standing in front of her, his shape outlined against the darkness. The sun must have gone down while she drowned her sorrows. In an instant he took in her flushed cheeks, the sheen of sweat, the bloodshot eyes, and the bottle responsible for it all. His mouth tightened in disapproval.

"I've found her," he said into his radio. "She's fine."

Hinata stopped listening and took a drink out of the bottle. She wasn't fine, she was drunk, and had every intention of getting drunker before the night was through. Maybe, if enough sake was in her system, she could forget about what she'd heard. Maybe, just maybe, the pain in her heart would ease enough to let her breathe.

Neji reached out and grabbed the bottle, prying it from her fingers and setting it out of her reach. "You've been missing for several hours, Hinata-sama." Her cousin checked her pulse. "Hiashi-sama was worried."

She snorted. Why would he worry? If something happened to her, he could place Hanabi as his heir with a clear conscience.

"He deployed ANBU an hour ago, when you didn't return after sundown," her cousin continued, turning her face towards him.

She swatted away the hand that was trying to lift one eyelid. "I haven't been poisoned, Neji." her voice sounded strange, slurred.

"That remains to be seen." He sniffed the bottle. "Where did you get this?"

"I found it," she said as she leaned back, sprawling on the blanket she'd spread out.

"You know better than to trust anything you just find, Hinata." Neji's voice was more than a little annoyed.

The kunoichi sat up, blinking her eyes clear. He actually thought she would just drink anything she found? That she was stupid enough, trusting enough, to put herself in danger like that. But why shouldn't he? She was the failed heir of the Hyuuga clan, after all. Too weak to hold a candle to a sister five years younger than her. Too stupid to be trusted alone for an afternoon because she couldn't defend herself, not as well as everyone else.

Hinata jumped to her feet, swaying as the room started to spin. It was the first time she'd stood since she began drinking. If Neji hadn't been there, she would have let herself fall back down, but she didn't want to show him how drunk she was.

He stepped back, watching her warily as she straightened. "What are you doing?"

"Leaving." She wanted to be alone. She reached down and picked up the bottle.

"You've had far too much to drink, Hinata-sama."

She hated the way he spoke to her, like she was a child who'd done something wrong. She tried to walk past him, but he stood in her way, unmoving.

"You're not leaving with that bottle, Hinata-sama." He held out his hand.

The bottle hit the wall behind him in a shower of glass and sake.

After that, everything blurred. She knew she tried to push past him, but he didn't move. Knew that she struck first, landing a solid blow to his chest that staggered her cousin for a moment before came towards her. He was trying to keep her from hurting herself, she guessed, because he didn't fight back. She had no such compulsions. She wanted to hurt him, to hurt someone, anyone. She found herself pressed against a wall, Neji using his weight to keep her pinned as he tried to calm her.

Hinata wrapped one leg behind his and pulled the other up to her chest, wincing as the rough wood scrapped her leg. She pushed off with all her strength, sending them crashing to the floor.

Hinata remembered everything. Remembered bring rolled beneath and turned onto her back, him yelling at her to calm down, to stop. Remembered leaning up and biting him, hard, on the neck. Remembered Neji fisting her shirt in his hands and slamming her down on the floor, knocking the wind out of her. Somewhere in the middle of that she stopped biting and started kissing, kisses that were no less punishing. And he'd let her. Let her rip his clothes off, leaving red trails where her nails caught his skin. Let her bite him until she tasted blood.

When she rolled them over so she was straddling him, he let her. In fact, he let her do everything. It was the first time she was completely in control when they were having sex. Before she was afraid she would do something wrong, that he wouldn't enjoy it. Judging from the way his hands had gripped her hips as she rode him, he was enjoying it immensely. He was beautiful; face flushed, head thrown back, eyes closed as she moved harder and faster. She leaned down to kiss him and found herself on her back, Neji plunging into her, his hair whisper soft on her arms and face until she came apart in his arms. She fell asleep to the sound of his labored breathing.

Hinata woke up later, her head pounding and every part of her sore. She looked around the shack and saw Neji sitting against a wall, watching her. He was naked to the waist, and she could see where nails had clawed his chest, the bite marks that covered his chest and shoulders.

She'd never felt so terrible in her life.

Neji had brushed it off, saying her understood. Hinata'd never known him to lie, so he must have, but that didn't excuse what she'd done. She used him, hurt him. They walked back to the family compound in silence, her eyes never leaving the ground. He delivered her to Taka, who'd rushed her off to the bathroom, clucking over the state of her hair, the smudges of dirt on her cheeks. It wasn't until later, when she was soaking away the worst of her aches, that she looked at her hands and saw the blood beneath her nails. More than a week passed before she could look Neji in the eye.

She hadn't touched sake since. At New Years, she pressed the cup to her sealed lips and wiped the rest away with her napkin.

It was that memory that brought her to the shrine. Not the sex itself, but because of what she had enjoyed. Enjoyed hurting him, the taste of his blood, the feel of her nails digging into his skin. She never thought herself capable of behaving that way, and once she had, there were times when she wanted to again. Times when she wanted _him _to hurt _her_, to drop the control he kept such a tight rein on.

She didn't know what that made her.

"Hinata?"

She turned around. Shino was standing at the foot of the shrine steps. There was something strange about him that she couldn't place at first, and she started when she realized what it was.

He wasn't wearing his shades.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading my drivel! Special cheesecake and raspberry cream thanks goes out to DIVEtoBlue, Chiaki pinkturdle, mellyd, Ryu-Hitori-Lenore-Evans, bakusensei, hatami, jan-I-am, popples, Tom B, Dark Wings, Raine, and Crystalline Tears for their great reviews! Thanks guys!

Apologies for the extra-long wait between posts, I've been kinda busy with other things. Hope to see ya soon!

Writegirl


	11. Two Proposals

Shino could remember the first time someone mentioned his eyes. In the Aburame clan it was a sign of renown, a sign that he had been born with the ability to carry their blood line limit into the next generation of Konoha ninja. His eyes, pools of shiny blackness from pupil to sclera, were something for him to take pride in. If only it was seen as such among others.

The first time it came to his attention just how different he was he was seven, and it was his first day at the Ninja Academy. Wearing the sunglasses his father gave him was irritating his face, so he took them off. Toru Nagama, a girl in the class ahead of him, noticed and brought it to everyone else's attention. By the time a crowd gathered he'd already had his glasses firmly in place, and a scowl that insured no one would try and take them off. That didn't stop the rumors though, and over the next few years he couldn't avoid people seeing, if his glasses were knocked off, or broken, what lay behind them.

Without them, he felt vulnerable.

"Where are you glasses, Shino-kun?"

Hinata's quiet question brought him out of his musings. She was standing at the foot of the shrine, one hand resting on a pillar.

She was beautiful.

"Have you made a decision concerning a husband, Hinata?"

The girl looked lost, but only for an instant, then her eyes widened in embarrassment. "N-not yet," she admitted, slipping into her shoes. "But they've narrowed the list down considerably."

Good. Very good.

Apprehension began to spread over the Aburame, mixed in with equal parts self-consciousness and fear. He had worked this plan out days ago, weeks really, but something always stopped him. Missions, other engagements, plans that suddenly seemed unable to wait for another time. If he were the type, he would have smiled in self-deprecation. As it was, he drew himself up to his full height.

Hinata eyed her former teammate warily. He seemed uneasy, an emotion he seldom displayed. "A-are you all right, Shino-kun?"

For a moment, the teen wished desperately for his sunglasses. The choice not to wear them had seemed significant at the time, now he felt naked. "Is there anyone in particular that you find appealing?"

Hinata just stared at him.

He could feel the confusion in his kikai, unused to so much apprehension in their host. They began chattering, the sound calming after so many years. He would get through this. A ninja did not abandon a course of action once set on it.

"A-appealing, Sh-shino-Kun?"

Hinata stared at the Aburame heir, unsure of what to say. Did she find any of her prospects appealing? Might as well ask if an inmate found their prospective jails appealing. Either way she would not be with the person she wanted, the one she needed.

Shino seemed to regain some of his composure. "None of the choices your family put before you has peaked any interest?"

The Hyuuga shook her head. "N-no, n-not really…" almost against her will her fingers began to rub against each other, a habit she thought she'd broken herself off. Self-conscious, she thrust her hands to her sides. "W-why do you ask, Shino-kun?"

She was expecting an answer. Perhaps Shino had someone he thought would be a good match for her. If so, she'd look into it. Her teammate was always a good judge of character.

She was not expecting a hand to reach out and push a lock of her hair behind her ear.

Hinata jumped back, startled. Her feet came up hard against the steps behind her and she felt herself falling. Before she could right herself Shino was there, his arms around her, helping her regain her balance.

"I'm sorry, Hinata." Shino was looking away from her. " I did not mean to startle you."

The pale eyed girl giggled, the sound bubbling up from her chest. "I-I… you didn't startle me, Shino-kun."

The ninja kept his eyes down, though. Hinata knew her teammate was self-conscious about them, he had been ever since she'd met him. A thought ran through her mind. What if he thought she was disgusted by his eyes? Maybe she hurt his feelings, pulling back so suddenly.

Without thinking, the kunoichi reached out and turned Shino's face to hers, her fingers lingering under his chin for the barest of moments. _See, _she tried to say through the touch, _you don't scare me. I don't mind. _When it occurred to her that her gesture could be mistaken for being forward she let her hand drop, embarrassment tinting her cheeks bright pink.

"You're beautiful when you blush, Hinata."

She jerked her eyes back to Shino. Beautiful? She was too pale in skin and eye, her face too round, for beauty. Pretty perhaps, in the way that little girls are pretty, but not beautiful. "Shi-shino…"

It was now or never, the Aburame decided. He'd already let that much slip out, there was no going back. This wasn't proper. His father should have approached hers, discussed terms. Instead he was courting disaster with impulsiveness, but something in him knew it must be done this way.

"Hinata, would you consider being my wife?"

This time the girl didn't need a step to take her off balance. Her knees melted, and she found herself falling forward. The world seemed to slow, the whiteness of the snow becoming blinding. There was a terrible moment, in which she wondered if she were dreaming and the second before she hit the ground she would wake up. How would she face Shino after this? How would she…

An arm reached across her, catching her before she fell and guiding her down and backwards. Hinata sat on the temple step, dazed. She reached out and pinched herself, hard, on her wrist, shocked at the pain that went through her. She wasn't dreaming then, this was really happening.

"Does the thought disgust you so much?"

The question, amused with just a hint of bitterness underneath, brought her out of her daze. "No!" The Hyuuga looked up at Shino, who was staring at her intently. "I'm just…" Amazed? Shocked? Surprised?

"It would be best." Shino had worked everything out before hand. It _would_, he reminded himself. It had to be. "With your condition, it would be awkward for you to marry anyone else. My father already suspects us." _That _had been a discussion -- discussion, because Aburame's never argued, never threw household objects or threatened disownment -- with his father he didn't want to repeat. "We are not incompatible, we have known each other for years."

Hinata wanted to cry. To well and truly find a place where no one would think to look for her and cry until she had no more tears. "You… you can't do this, Shino-kun."

Shino looked at her, confused, and she continued. "You can't save me. I won't let you throw yourself away for…" _for a fool, for someone else's mistake, for someone not worthy of your sacrifice. _"… for me."

She didn't know she was crying until a thumb slid gently over her cheek, brushing away a thin trail of moisture.

"You could do worse than me." Much worse, he feared. There was little doubt in his mind that her family would steer her towards the person they wanted, no matter what she thought. He had seen women, once proud and beautiful, wilt under the hand of an uncaring husband. They were not spoken of, not in public, but everyone knew. He would not have that for her. "Please think on it, Hinata."

"Hai, Shino-kun."

The ninja stood up. It wasn't the immediate acceptance he was hoping for, but it was better than an outright refusal. He was about to say something else when one of his kikai chittered.

_There are two here._

Where?

It took him a moment to orient their watchers in distance. Well outside the small clearing, but close enough for several sight and hearing jutsus to be effective. No doubt whoever it was had already heard enough to start tongues wagging in the village. Perhaps enough so that their families would have no choice but to marry them. The thought made him feel a little better. "It is cold, Hinata. Would you like me to walk you home?"

* * *

"Well, that was interesting, wasn't it?"

Kurenai punched at Kakashi, disappointed when he ducked without even looking at her. It wasn't a strong punch, he could have at least stood there and took it, if just for her own piece of mind. How could she have missed something like this going on between two of her students? How had any of them missed it? Granted, they were two of her most introverted and secretive team members, but how could they hide something like this.

"Stop beating yourself up about this, Kurenai," Kakashi said nonchalantly as he turned a page in his book. "At least Shino's doing the right thing."

"Of course he is," she answered without thinking. Shino always did the right thing without having to be told, a trait she had taken for granted.

Kakashi straightened, tucking his book away. "Ah, well, Tsunade will be happy to learn she was concerned for nothing." Hands in pockets, the jounin headed back to the village. He was wearing his normally bland expression, but his mind was working furiously. It was clear to him that Hinata was pregnant, that was the only condition that would make marriage awkward for her, but of anything else he wasn't so sure. There had been no declaration of love from either of them. Hinata had attempted to turn the young ninja away; why would she do that if he was the father?

She wouldn't.

_What have you got us into, Tsunade? _The jounin asked, looking up at the sky. He'd hope to find out something like this: just two kids in love who were trying to avoid a scandal on either of the families, and at least one family trying to cover all the bases. But, if Hinata's family knew she was with child, why not force her to marry the father? Kakashi frowned. He was getting a bad feeling, the kind he got just before a kunai buried itself between his shoulder blades. Something wasn't right here, and he did not want to be in the middle of it.

* * *

"He is handsome, is he not?"

Ai watched as he niece sighed and pretended to pay attention with narrowed eyes. What was getting into the girl? Hyuuga Jin should have piqued her interest. Handsome, though not quite as much as Neji, he would at least act as a close second if the girl was still pining away for the boy.

"Is something wrong, Hinata?" Rumiko asked, taking the girl's wrist in hand. Ai doubted the younger woman would have allowed it had she known that, by sending subtle pulses of chakra through the pressure points there, Rumiko could alter moods.

Kaiya set down her tea cup. "Perhaps she is feeling tired?"

Hinata shook her head. "I'm sorry, Rumiko-san," the girl said in her quiet voice. "I'll try to pay more attention."

Rumiko sighed. "I'm not so old yet that I can't tell when there's something wrong with someone. Tell us, child."

The three women leaned in, intent on the girl. It was there duty to make sure that nothing happened to Hinata, or their heir, during her pregnancy. To be her friends, her confidants. They were to make sure her mental and physical health remained stable.

Hinata looked between them. "Can I suggest someone who isnt on the list?" She asked tentatively.

Ai smiled. "Of course, Hinata-chan. Who did you have in mind?"

The girl looked away from them, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. It was amazing, how much she had grown, yet stayed the same.

"Wh-what about Shino-kun?"

The Aburame? "From your squad?"

Hinata nodded swiftly, hiding her face behind her cup.

The three Hyuuga elders glanced at each other, every look speaking volumes. Rumiko was still massaging the girl's wrist when she spoke. "Is that who you want, Hinata-chan?"

The kunoichi worried her lower lip. Did she want Shino? He was quiet, kind. She'd known him for years, trusted him with her life. It wasn't love, but it was a close second.

Wasn't it?

"Hai."

* * *

A ninja becomes used to pain over the years of his career. Eventually, he becomes numb to it, to anything other than a mortal blow. Even then, a ninja learns to turn off the part of his brain that acknowledges pain until the very end, until life was gone.

Neji threw the kunai hard, not satisfied when the blade disappeared in the thick wood, the circular handle all that was visible. A series of throwing knives and stars followed, each one buried to the hilt in the center of the targets.

_Are you happy for me, Neji?_

Aburame Shino was an excellent choice for a husband. He knew Hinata, knew how to make her smile, how delicate she was. He would take care of her.

He would take care of their child.

The two kunai Neji threw in tandem struck each other before hitting the target, missing the small circle entirely

_Shino-kun asked me to marry him._

The ninja leapt in the air, creating two shadow clones. Before he landed he was under attack, the blows swift and punishing. He wasn't focused, and when one landed a solid blow on his back he fell forward, the clones disappearing as the chakra flooded his system. The ground was cold and hard beneath his knuckles, the thick layer of ice on the practice yard cutting into his skin. The chakra wasn't destructive, being his own, but it left an unpleasant tingle along his skin, as if lightening had struck nearby.

Why? Why wasn't he good enough for her? The Hyuuga had intermarried for years, why was he suddenly frowned upon? She wasn't as closely related as some had been when they married, he was more than capable of taking care of her.

The jounin stood and breathed deeply, forcing himself to calm down. Practicing while unfocused did nothing but lead to unwanted injuries. Then again, he didn't have to worry about there, he was forbidden from missions outside of the village. So far, the most exciting thing he'd done was be allowed to patrol the village perimeter with ANBU.

_I wonder what the council will decide, _he thought to himself. Hinata had managed to find herself a proper match, outside of the clan. Perhaps it would be for the best. As much as the Hyuuga enjoyed scheming, they would be wary to do so when the son of another clan was involved, especially the Aburame. As little as was known about them one thing was certain, attacking one was like attacking all, and the clan would mobilize like the insects they used to protect one of their own.

…_please Neji…please…don't leave me…_

As he began his kata again the Hyuuga couldn't deny the irony. It seemed like months since Hinata had spoke those words. He never thought he would have to worry about her leaving him.

* * *

"Please tell me you have good news."

Tsunade was pissed. Not average, 'someone forgot to deliver my tea while it was still hot' pissed. She was 'if I don't kick someone's ass in the next few minutes I just might start a war for the hell of it' pissed. Her latest lead on finding Sasuske and Orochimaru had gone cold, stone cold, and she had two corpses in the morgue and a ninja who might never see again to show for it. Someone had to be harboring him, and she needed to find out who before time ran out.

Kakashi already knew all of this, which was why he'd shed his usual 'I don't care' attitude. Tsunade had knocked him through a wall once when she was in a bad mood, he had no desire for a repeat performance. "I think we have a snag with the Hyuuga problem."

The Hokage listened to his report. "Are you sure, Kakashi?" she asked when he was finished.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Tsunade steepeled her hands in front of her, eyes narrowed. This was not what she needed to deal with at the moment.

"Can I make a suggestion?" When she looked up, Kakashi continued. "It might be best to leave these things in the hands of the families. Both the Hyuuga and the Aburame would be embarrassed if this were to become known."

The blonde gave him a wry smile. "Thanks for the heads up." She reached in her desk and handed him a thick folder. "This is Hideo's report of what was found at

Orochimaru's old headquarters. There was nothing of real value, only some information that someone like you might be able to decipher."

Kakashi grimaced behind his mask as he opened the folder. On one side were pages of typed notes from Hideo's debriefing, the other contained photos. Several contained seals he hadn't seen in years, not since Orochimaru had almost seduced the jounin to his side. "Where's Anko?" he asked.

"On a mission. She'll go over them when she returns."

The ninja paged through the photos, then stopped. The picture was of a blank wall, a single, circular seal painted on it in what looked like blood. "This is a restraint seal," he said, removing the picture from the pile and handing it to Tsunade. He felt dirty just touching it. "Orochimaru was developing it here in the village." From the look of it, he'd found a way to complete the seal without the problems that had plagued him years ago. The five pages that followed had similar seals, and it was apparent they were the walls and ceiling of the same small cell.

"What does it do?"

"Contains a soul outside the body."

* * *

"Absolutely not."

Hiashi fought the urge to clench his hands into fists. "Why not, Chichue?"

Himori looked surprised at his son's question. "We have already diluted the blood of the clan enough, Hiashi. Hinata will marry inside the clan. Her children will be of Hyuuga blood, not Aburame."

"Shino is Hinata's choice."

Hiashi flinched when his father actually laughed. "Since when does she have a choice?" he asked. "The future of our clan is what is most important. I will not have her loyalty split between two houses. Ai, Rumiko, and Kaiya have been directing her to _our_ choice."

"And if she refuses your choice."

Himori walked towards his son. "Then you will convince her otherwise." His voice was hard when he continued. "I will not have this clan shattered. The Hyuuga will be whole when I pass command to you, and you _will_ understand once the responsibility is yours."

Twenty minutes passed before Himori was finished speaking with his son. Twenty minutes that he wished with all his heart he could forget. He had known his father could be cold, heartless when necessary, but what he did was for the survival of the clan. But to hear him speak of his own flesh and blood as little more than chess pieces…

_You've always known, _he told himself as he walked through the compound. The storm that had plagued the village for almost two weeks had blown away, leaving frozen ground and mounds of dingy snow. _You knew when he ordered his son to die. You knew when he ordered his nieces and nephews punished for slights real and imagined. _And soon, if his father was to be believed, he would have that honor. And after him, Hinata. Generations of chess pieces, molded and shaped into what the clan needed.

The bitter memory of when he'd punished Hizashi burned the back of his throat. Because he was _supposed _to, because no member of the branch family should have the temerity to show contempt or anger towards the main family. He could still hear it sometimes, his brother's screams. Still remembered the whimpering gasps he gave out as his nervous system fought to get itself under control. The look of hatred on Neji's face when he realized the cause of his father's pain.

"_If Shino belonged to a lesser family, one that could be integrated into the Hyuuga, my decision would be different. But he does not. The Aburame are a proud family, and would demand an heir of their own to carry on their blood line limit. The byakugan must remain in the Hyuuga clan. We cannot afford to let those who carry the gene out of our control."_

Sound reasoning for a tyrant.

* * *

"You shouldn't push him so hard, Himori."

Himori laughed humorlessly. "He is weakening. His _daughter _makes him weak." It had ever been so. Had he not been mindless with fear over her kidnapping, he wouldn't have killed the person responsible until they got all the information they could out of him. Had he been willing to push her, she would be the heir they needed, not the weak link in the chain."That girl is a disease, spreading throughout our clan."

"Now you're being cruel because of anger." Rumiko pushed the screen aside to look at her cousin. In truth, she never liked him. Even as a child, he lorded the fact that he would one day rule over the clan over them, never letting them forget for a moment that _he _was the Hyuuga heir. "She is exceeding our expectations at every turn. You should be proud of her, instead of constantly comparing her to her cousin."

As usual, thoughts of his other grandchild made Himori's hands clench. Not for the first time he wondered if there was a way to remove the seal before death. There had to be some method. But no, that avenue was lost to him. Damn Hizashi for leaving him with this final curse, and damn Hiashi for insisting to marry outside the clan.

"Temper, brother Himori," Kaiya laid a hand on her his shoulder. "There might still be a way to make everyone happy, if you'll let us handle things from now on. You're too close to your son, and bad blood is clouding the judgment of both of you."

"You did charge us with the girl's well being," Ai reminded him. "I don't think I've seen her eyes light up the way they did when she admitted she wanted the Aburame in months. We can please all quarters, with some…adjustments."

Hello everyone. Sorry about the extremely long wait for this post, I've been having inspiration problems (thank you cartoon network).

Special chocolate-cognac triple layer cake thanks goes out to ChiakiHara, NekoMercury, M.o.O.o.S.e.S, Raphael Argai Thanatos, mI.ShOE, Lady Of Genesis, Ciel, Fairia13, Deora ar mo Chroi, Metsudo, DIVEtoBlue, Chiaki, Mellyd, B.J. Sanders, and Bakusensei for the great reviews!

For those of you wondering about the Kakashi-Orochimaru connection I made, it seemed to fit for me. The two seemed awfully chummy when they met over Sasuske, and Orochimaru called Kakashi 'kun'. I don't know, maybe I'm reading too much into things. Also, I think Orochimaru might have been a little seductive to a young Kakashi, especially after her father died. Well, I'm off! Thanks for reading J


	12. Pain

This was wrong.

Neji knew it, knew it to his bones, but that didn't stop him. He leaned down, nipping at the pale shoulder flexing beneath him. This wasn't supposed to happen, ever again. He was free of it, rid of this compulsion, this need to have her beneath him, to feel her skin sweat-slick and hot against his. There would be hell to pay if they were discovered, but that didn't matter.

"Neji!"

His hand left its place on her hip, reaching up to turn her face just enough to kiss her, to smother her cries. He loved them though; loved the way her breath would catch, the high, keening moans she would make while he thrust into her. Her mouth fell away, the delicate line of her jaw clenched against crying out again. His hands came up, brushing the long, dark hair away from her sweat drenched back, kissed the spot _there, _at the nape of her neck, the spot that made her clench deliciously around him, that dragged another moan from her, this one dark with need.

Hinata's arms were stretched over her head, grabbing at the mattress, and his hands slid over hers, twined with her fingers as he thrust harder, faster. Short, sharp thrusts that blanked his mind with pleasure even as he became more aware of her, of the fine tremor building between them, of the moans that became tighter, higher, as she pushed back in counterpoint. Neji shifted, dragging them upright, her back flush against his chest, her head thrown back against his shoulder. She turned her face to him, searching, and their lips met, drowning her cries as his hand skittered down her stomach to touch the place they were joined.

Hinata convulsed, one hand tangled in the black silk of Neji's hair, the other wrapped around him as she rode out her pleasure. He joined her moments later, swallowing his own cry of fulfillment with hers.

Carefully, as if she were made of spun glass, Neji lowered them to the tangled sheets, her body still pressed to his. He reached down, fishing the heavy blanket from the tangle of bedding and laid it over them, coming to rest with one hand beneath her breasts (amazing, how they had grown larger, more sensitive, since their last time together), the other resting on the slight bulge below her navel as they caught their breath. It was the first time he let himself _feel _the proof of her pregnancy. A child was resting there, his child. The thought brought on a wave of possessiveness. She was _his, _they both were, and nothing anyone said -- not the council, not her father -- could change that.

"Would you leave with me, Hinata?" The words were out of his mouth before he thought, and he regretted them. He had no right to ask that of her.

She twisted in his arms. "Leave?"

Neji closed his eyes. He'd thought about how, when. Had thought about it since learning she was pregnant, and that he wouldn't be allowed to marry her. There were ships that went to the places beyond the ninja clans, though what such places would be like he had little idea. Occasionally, someone from the village would be hired by an 'outlander', as they saw these people, and would make to voyage across the ocean. The tales they told were strange. Who could imagine a country without ninja? Countries with large, sprawling, crime riddled cities where inept police barely managed to keep the people from each other's throats?

"We could leave," he started slowly, tracing a hand softly down her back. He had his savings; the bulk of his pay for over five years. He had few expenses outside food, and the sum was… substantial. He had enough saved to buy them passage on a merchant vessel. Minus the price of the voyage, he had enough saved to support them until he could find work, at least for five months. A month's voyage over the ocean, and they would be in a place where their family couldn't find them.

_And what if they do?_ Another voice asked? He would be executed, perhaps before they were delivered back to the Hyuuga. Hinata would be disgraced, their child known as a bastard, marked with that for life even if he managed to escape being placed in the branch family. How long would they have to run, always looking over their shoulders, never trusting anyone? How long before they grew careless? ANBU sometimes hunted ninja for years before they were caught.

Hinata rested her head beneath his chin. "We'll be caught," she muttered. "They wouldn't let us go."

Neji held her close, one hand combing through her hair. "I'll think of a way," he said absently, eyes searching the darkness.

Hours later, Hinata crept back into the Hyuuga compound. There were only a few hours left before dawn, and questions to be answered when she faced her father. The heir to the Hyuuga just didn't disappear before dinner and reappear hours later unchallenged. There would be hell to pay for disappearing as she did, but she didn't care. One hand fingering the bite mark on her shoulder as she crept through the halls. It made her feel… right… knowing that was there, safe.

_Look at you, all but promised to Shino, and you open your legs for another man,_ a voice, which sounded strangely like her aunt Kaiya, said.

With that voice came a strange embarrassment, as if Shino was staring at her, his eyes able to pick out the places where Neji had touched her as if they glowed. Hinata shook her head, forcing the image away. Shino knew, and he still accepted her. Still cared enough to ask for her hand.

_And what of the next time? _Shino's cool voice asked. _What of after we're married? Will you be able to stay away? Will I have to fear that no child you bear will have Aburame blood? _There was no anger in his words, just disappointment.

The thought made her stumble as she opened the door to her room. She _would _be faithful to her husband, she had no choice. She owed him her loyalty, if nothing else.

_Loyalty in one hand, love in the other, a hard choice, little one._ The ghostly voice of her mother drifted through her thoughts. _You have to decide between them eventually._

"I know," the girl whispered to the dark room, knees drawn up against her chest. "I know." At the moment, she didn't want to decide. All she wanted was to remember how safe she'd felt with Neji holding her.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't last.

The only warning she received was the sound of light footsteps coming down the hall. The door was pulled back roughly, revealing her younger sister. "Where were you?" Hanabi demanded, slamming the door to her sister's room behind her.

Hinata didn't move. She didn't even acknowledge the younger woman. _Neji._

"Chichue's been looking for you since dinner. No one knew where you were, what to think. What's wrong with you? Why can't you just do what you're supposed to for once?"

_He wanted me to leave with him, _asked _me to leave with him._

" I don't know what's going on with you. No one tells me anything."

_He could keep us safe, I know he would._

"Don't just sit there, answer me!"

The kunai was thrown with such force that it quivered in the wood of the door. Hanabi reached up to touch her face, stunned. Below her ear was a thin line of crimson.

Hinata stood and stalked towards her sister. "Get out."

Hanabi stood her ground. "You can't tell me-"

"That's where you're wrong," Hanabi's eyes widened at the sound of her sister's voice. It was flat, emotionless. "I'm still the heir to our clan, still you're older sister. _You _don't make demands of me. _You _don't question me. Now _get out._"

Hinata wasn't tall, but she was taller than her sister. She brought all that height to bear, backing Hanabi into the door. She reached out, pulled the kunai free of the wood and shoved the door open. She waited until the younger girl was just clear of the door before slamming it in her face.

Hiashi watched as his youngest daughter stared at the door, shock clear even in the dim light of dawn. Twice she made as if to storm back in, but stopped herself, hand hovering over the aged wood. After one final look, she walked towards her own rooms.

The Hyuuga stopped in front of Hinata's door for a moment, listening, then continued down the hall.

Finally, his eldest daughter was showing some backbone.

* * *

For the first time in weeks, winter was releasing it's hold on the village of Konoha. The last of the snow was off the ground, the hard-packed streets turning soggy with the thaw. It was cool now in the evenings, instead of cold. On the farms outside the village, the men talked of spring being nearly here. In a few more weeks, they boasted that the fields would be showing the first signs of green.

The river ports would be opening for travel.

Neji went over the sums in his head as he walked to the training ground. Traveling by boat would be easier for Hinata as they made their way to the coast. Easier than bedding down in forests and making their journey on foot. Once they reached the ports they could vanish, just another young couple trying to make their way. He was on his way to the river now. The Junchu, the closest river large enough to sustain trade, was half a day's journey from Konoha. He could make it in a few hours.

A faint whir caught his attention, and he jumped, listening to the sound of a kunai striking a tree. Two more whirs and he twisted in midair, throwing his own weapons to intercept those heading towards him. He was about to jump from his perch on a thick tree limb when he felt the tug of wire securing him to the wood. The clang of the kunai hitting each other must have muffled the sound of the throwing star used to wrap the wire around him.

"I almost didn't think I'd catch you."

Neji's eyes widened when Hatake Kakashi dropped out of the tree in front of him, the wire twined in his fingers. "Kakashi."

"Neji."

Before the younger man could ask a question the wire went slack, falling away from him. Neji stepped away from the tree, feeling chagrin. He should have been able to see through the trap, not been caught in it. "Is there something you wanted, Kakashi?"

The jounin stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Nothing much." He jumped down.

Neji followed. The two walked through the trees in silence until Kakshi sighed, the sound heavy and tired.

"You should forget about Hinata, Neji."

Those words, delivered in a flat, almost monotone voice, stopped the Hyuuga in mid-step. How did he know? "What are you-" he trailed off when Kakashi fixed him with a stare. 'I know everything,' that look said, 'so don't waste my time on denials'. Neji clenched his jaw.

"You can't run," the jounin continued, startling the boy further. How had he known? "You'd be found, and then the secret you're hiding would be known. Forget about her, move on."

Kakashi started walking again, and Neji followed, stunned. How many people knew? Was there any point of pretending with anyone?

"You'll find someone else." The jounin turned, his visible eye full of mirth. "Someone you can be happy with, if only for a little while." Humor fled as his expression became deadly serious."Continue with this, and you risk both your futures."

Kakashi stared at the boy, until his expression showed he'd absorbed what the older man had to say. "Good!" he said cheerfully,and vanishedbefore the boy could say anything.

The jounin watched Neji from the treetop, all but hidden from view. The young man was staring at the spot where he'd stood, confusion plain even from this distance. Normally, Kakashi wasn't the one to give advice, and normally people didn't come to him for it. Still, he felt he needed to tell the boy something after what he saw last night.

After all, he owed them _something _for getting a free show.

_He won't listen,_ he said to himself when Neji continued walking towards the river at a quicker pace. He saw the way Neji held his cousin the night before, heard the determination in his voice. Tearing those two apart might be impossible, not without bloodshed.

"_I'll think of a way,"_ that's what he'd told Hinata, and the silver-haired jounin had no doubt that the boy would. A way that would lead them both to ruin. The punishment for trying to spirit away the heir to a clan would be steep, probably something the boy wouldn't survive.

If he was lucky.

"Young love." The copy-nin pulled out his newest edition of _Icha Icha Paradise_ and began reading. Fantasy was far less complicated than reality. He was about to return to the village when a slight noise caught his attention.

Neji was surrounded. Eight ANBU formed a tight, two tiered circle around the young jounin. He recognized the masks on two of them: Kimura and Nakagawa. He had a sneaking suspicion the rest were Hyuuga. After several moments of tense silence, the group disappeared.

Kakashi closed his book, then started towards Konoha. Perhaps he would reach the Hokage in time.

* * *

A ninja becomes used to pain over the years of his career. Eventually, he becomes numb to it, to anything other than a mortal blow. Even then, a ninja learns to turn off the part of his brain that acknowledges pain until the very end, until life was gone.

There were some pains, though, that couldn't be ignored.

Neji fought the urge to curl into a ball, to clutch his head in an effort to stop the waves of stabbing pain that radiated from the brand on his forehead. He fought, and lost. When his grandfather was done, he was in a small fetal ball, his throat ragged from his screams.

"Please, try not to lie to us, Hyuuga Neji, for your own good."

The jounin gasped, taking raw, panting breaths as his muscles unclenched. Punishment through the brand was always harsh. He would have preferred being caned. There was some dignity in that, at least. "Himori-san, I don't-"

The pain was short and sharp this time. A warning.

"Hinata was missing for several hours last night, reappearing sometime near dawn. What do you know of this?" The voice was distorted, distant. He was aware the council was watching him, but he couldn't focus. The light was too bright, everything looked like he was seeing through a haze.

Neji pushed himself to his knees, though he had to balance himself with his arms. "I know nothing."

There was a sigh from above him, and he tried to brace himself for the pain, but there was no bracing. It started as a tingle that raced along the skin, an almost ticklish sensation. It was followed by pain.

Kaiya narrowed her eyes as she watched her nephew scream. The boy was too willful by half. He should have been broken to their leash years ago, talent or no. If he had been, this would be unnecessary. She held out a hand, and Fujita released the seal. "Let us get to the heart of the matter, without the theatrics, shall we?" the words were sharp, matter of fact. "We know where she was," she told him. "We also know that you were told to refrain from doing anything…sordid."

It too longer for him to respond this time. Something that could have been a sob was torn from his throat, but was swiftly muffled. He lay boneless, muscles twitching as his nervous system recovered. She stepped down from the dais and kneeled in front of the boy. Kindness was every bit as strong a tool as pain. "It's all right," she said gently, brushing the fall of his hair away from Neji's face. The seal burned an angry red, the skin torn where his fingernails had dug into the flesh.

His eyes swam before settling on her, and she frowned. He was already in the second stages of the curse, then. Ai was supposed to be watching him, to make sure Fujita didn't push him too far, but she wouldn't say anything until the boy was near death. She was a sadist on her best days. "Kaiya-sama…"

"I'm surprised you can talk," she gestured, and one of the brought a cup of water. "Here." She was surprised. She had seen men and women scream until their throats bled under the curse.

Neji drank, coughing as the liquid met the abused flesh of his throat.

"See," she stroked his hair. Her words were still distorted, barely understandable. "Please try to be reasonable, Neji-kun. The sooner you confess, the sooner this will be finished."

He knew what they were doing. Kindness after pain, to break down the person under interrogation. It made a person _want _to tell his captors what he knew, placed the burden of their pain on his shoulders, rather than theirs. It was basic, but effective. If he could have, Neji would have laughed.

He felt the thud of footsteps, several pairs of them, through the floorboards. He was aware of the sounds of shouting, of being picked up by gentle hands and laid on a stretcher. Neji cracked one eye, saw a flash of blonde hair, and passed out.

* * *

There were times when being Hokage came in handy, Tsunade thought as she stormed through the Hyuuga compound. No one was willing to actively bar her way as she walked through the complex. The two medical nins with her were uneasy, and she hoped they were unnecessary. When Kakashi appeared in her office and told her that Neji was taken into custody by his family, a cold weight settled in the pit of her stomach.

The sound of small feet running down the walkway caught her attention. A small bundle skidded to a stop bare inches from them, eyes full of tears. "Hinata?"

"Tsu-Tsunade-sama?"

Hinata was stunned. When Taka burst into her training session and told her that ANBU just came in with Neji, she paused just long enough to look at her father's face. The surprise she saw there gave her a jolt of fear. Hyuuga ANBU could only be controlled by her father or the family council. That they'd sent for Neji without alerting her father meant something was very, very wrong.

The Hokage looked up. Hiashi was following his daughter, moving swiftly despite his limp. His eyes widened only slightly at seeing her there. "Where is Neji?"

Hiashi walked past them.

They followed the Hyuuga to a small building, nearly hidden by carefully manicured bushes. In spring, it was probably lovely, but in winter, the skeletal branches looked like claws. Her eyes narrowed dangerously when she saw the seal on the door. It was to prevent sound leakage.

Instead of smashing the door to pieces, what she was inclined to do, she slid the shoji back roughly, satisfied when she heard the crunch of breaking wood. "What's going on here?"

"Neji!"

Hinata flew past her, kneeling beside a figure huddled on the floor.

The Hyuuga family council stood on a slightly raised dais. Himori stepped forward. "What is the meaning of this, Tsunade?"

The blonde woman ground her teeth. If it was the last thing she did, she would teach these people to have something at least bordering on respect when they spoke to her. "I was informed that one of my ninja was being mistreated." Her eyes settled on the body shivering on the floor. Hinata had pulled him into her lap, the tears she held in check streaming down her face. The Hokage nodded towards the boy, and the medical nins walked past her into the room.

"This is a family matter," Himori was walking towards her now, his face a thunderhead. "You have no right-"

She held up a hand. "How is he?" she asked.

The medical nins were silent, and she turned towards them. Neji was spread out on the stretcher. Or as spread out as they could get him. He twitched uncontrollably, small movements broken at intervals by random spasms. The curse seal, something she'd seen pictures of, was black, then skin around it raised and angry. She rounded on Himori, satisfied when some of his bluster diminished under her glare. "We will discuss this later."

Tsunade ignored his protests and went to examine Neji herself. His eyes were open, but unfocused, the pupils dilating and constricting. He was covered in sweat. "Neji?"

His eyes wandered, focusing on her for an instant before losing it. "Take him to the hospital immediately," she ordered. "Hinata will stay with him."

As the medical nins filed out of the room, Tsunade rounded on the council. "Now, I think it's time we discussed what you were doing. And why."

* * *

Hi All! Thanks for reading my stuff! Special gingerbread men and hot cocoa with marshmellows goes out to Fairia13, wah, junebiyatch, ChiakiHara,Fattyaddy-99, Midare, and last but never leastm.o.O.o.S.e.S for their great reviews!

Fattyaddy-99 - Naruto wont have a role in this one, at least, I dont think he will. And on whether news will leak to the village... well... :)

wah - I'm not Japanese (mores the pity) so I dont really know their view on interfamily marriage, but I thinkNeji and Hinata are a little too closely related to be married, at least, not without having to deal with problems with the village. Genetically speaking, their half-siblings, since their parents were twins (at least, I think that's right. Kinda slept through that class in biology)

Fairia13 - Thanks for the offer, but I'll decline :) Besides, I dont think you can mail people, can you?


	13. Memory and Shadow

Himori was silent until his grandchildren and the medical nins left, then he rounded on Tsunade, fury in his pale eyes. "This is a family matter, Tsunade, and no affair of the Hokage. If you believe you can just-"

"Anything that involves the people of this village is my concern, Himori," Tsunade interrupted, her voice icy. Because of her youthful appearance it was easy to forget that Tsunade was trained by the Sandaime, considered by many to be the most talented Hokage the village had ever known. It was also easy to forget that she was as old as Himori. She took delight in reminding him of that now. "And you would do well to remember that, unless you want to find yourself arrested for abusing an asset of Konoha and thrown in a cell. Which is exactly where you'll wait until the village council can be convened if I don't get some answers."

The Hyuuga elder refused to back down. "Arrested! For disciplining my own grandchild? The council would-"

Ai stepped forward, placing a hand on her cousin's shoulder and stopping him mid-tirade. "Himori-san is understandably upset by having to discipline one of his grandchildren, Hokage-sama," the elderly woman explained, her voice quiet and calm. "Forgive him for his rudeness." A look passed between them, and Himori stepped back. Ai continued, her voice a mixture of contrition and slight discomfiture. "We felt that Neji's punishment should be handled internally without bringing itself to the Hokage's attention, as it is primarily a family matter. We assure you that his pain is only temporary, and no permanent damage has been done."

The Hokage took in the Hyuugas with a single glance, her eyes narrowed to slits. "You were abusing one of my ninja, a jounin who has proved invaluable to Konoha. Explain why to me here, or in front of the village council, the choice is yours." She expected them to stand tall and proud, to demand that _her _conduct be investigated. She didn't expect the quick looks that passed between the nine Hyuugas, looks laced with chagrin. Nine pairs of pale, pupil-less eyes turned to her.

_Great, _Tsunade thought as Himori began to explain. _What have I stumbled into now?_

* * *

"_Neji!"_

_Neji slowed down, a rare smile gracing his features. He wondered if she would fall for that trap, and she had._

_"You should be more careful, Hinata," he called as he raced from tree to tree. Hinata was hanging in midair, wrapped up in wire. The jutsu was advanced, but she should have noticed the seals on the trees, should have been able to avoid them to some extent. Instead, she landed right in the middle of it. She couldn't have been more perfectly trapped if it was on purpose._

_His cousin made a face before sighing. "Help me out, please?"_

_The older Hyuuga cocked his head. "You can release yourself."_

_Hinata glared at him, really glared. He was the only one she felt comfortable enough with to do that to. With a huph she concentrated on her chakra: molding it, sharpening it, until it resembled thin blades in her mind._

_She exhaled, and the wires holding her fell away, cut neatly into pieces by her chakra. Hinata landed at the base of a tree, smiling. "I did it."_

_Neji never complimented her, not with words. His compliments when they trained came in the form of small, almost non-existent smiles, a hand to help her up when she was tired. He did so now, his hand wrapping around her smaller one as he pulled her to her feet. The feel of his fingers strong and sure against hers always made Hinata feel special, wanted. As if, in that moment, nothing could hurt her._

Hinata's hand hovered near Neji's, not quite touching the pale digits peeking from beneath the white hospital sheet. The room was silent; the only sound the quiet beeping of several different machines and the occasional sound of feet passing outside the door. Her hand moved closer, then shied away at the last moment. She didn't have the right to touch him. If it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be here, hurting.

Neji was lying motionless on a hospital bed, his skin too pale, his muscles twitching as his nervous system recovered from the onslaught. A bandage covered his seal and the claw marks around it, almost as white as he was.

Hinata listened to him pant, chest rising and falling too fast as his body tried to recover from his punishment. _I just wanted to see him, _she thought to herself. That's all. Just to see him, to make sure he was all right; a feeling that had grown into a compulsion of sorts over the past weeks. It wasn't fair, that he had to bear the brunt of the punishment for something they both did.

_When has life ever been fair for him?_ Or for either of them, for that matter? She could vaguely remember a time when it had been, when she was three and she saw her cousin for the first time; his forehead free of the brand, his eyes still full of hope. It was her best memory of him. The last time she saw him happy. Not for any particular reason, just…happy.

Not for the first time, Hinata wondered what life would have been like had they been born in a different clan. Would they be preparing for a wedding now? Would he have found someone else? Would she? Would she even be a ninja, or would she have gone into medicine?

But they hadn't been born into another clan. They were Hyuuga, the most privileged, and confining, clan in the village. Unable to marry outside the clan, unable to be what _you _wanted, only what was expected.

Unable to be happy.

The thought was enough to send dread, ice-cold and biting, down Hinata's spine, and she found herself walking out of the hospital. The streets of Konoha were busy with the traffic of early evening, as restaurants opened and people hurried home. Some smiled at her, waved a greeting, and she answered in kind without thought. Her mind was too busy pondering this latest bit of information. Was anyone in her family happy?

The kunoichi tried to recall if she'd ever seen her father smile, or her sister, or Ai or Kaiya or her grandfather, and couldn't remember a single time in recent memory. Her father hadn't smiled since her mother died; she couldn't even remember how the expression had fit his face. Her sister stopped smiling shortly after her fifth birthday for reasons only she knew. For all their power and privilege, the Hyuuga were unhappy.

She couldn't do that to her child.

Hinata wasn't surprised when she found herself at the small forest shrine. It was beautiful at night, the soft glow given by candles and lamps warm and inviting. There was no incense burning and she lit three sticks. She had a vague memory, or perhaps a dream, of her mother telling her that wishes and prayers were carried to heaven by incense, that that was how their gods and ancestors heard their prayers. The child had watched with wide eyes as the smoke curled its way to the sky, vanishing. Only when she was older did she realize that any smoke would be torn asunder by wind before it got ten feet in the air, the prayers it contained destroyed.

With aching slowness, Hinata began forming seals; dragon, shark, monkey, horse, dragon, and finally bear. She placed trembling hands over the small bulge below her navel. It was somehow fitting that this place, that had bore witness to so much of her pain in so short a time, would be where she did this.

_Forgive me._

* * *

Neji's return to consciousness was difficult. There were times when he would fight the blackness around him, only to sink beneath the waves. Others when he could hear but not move, a prisoner in his own body. At these times he would relax, and allow himself to drift beneath the waves again. More than once he thought he felt someone touching him, or near him, different someone's, but these were vague impressions that faded moments after they were made.

When he finally found himself able to truly wake it was sounds that came to him first, a strange, high beeping that annoyed him, then the sound of someone moving about close by. Normally, he would have sat up and demanded to know what they were doing in his room, but his muscles refused to obey. He felt…drained… as if something had sucked his chakra from him.

"Oh, you're awake," a familiar voice said to him. A cool hand was placed on his forehead. "We didn't think you'd come around for another day or so, but you always were a fast healer. Tsunade-sama will be pleased that you're up again. She said to tell her the minute you woke up."

Tsunade…blond hair… the council… she must have interrupted his punishment, that's what happened. But why? He couldn't recall hearing of a Hokage interrupting a session like that before. The Third certainly had never stepped into a Hyuuga family dispute.

"Would you like something to drink, Neji-kun?"

He nodded, and the nurse helped him lift his head and sip from a plastic cup. Cold water slid down his throat, easing some of the dry burn. "How…" he cleared his throat. "How lo-"

"About two days, give our take a few hours." The nurse moved to his left, toying with an IV tube. "We might be able to take this out, after Hokage-sama gives you a once over."

Despite his weakness, Neji found it within himself to fidget as he waited for Tsunade to appear. He'd been unconscious for two days. His eyes flitted to the single chair next to his bed, the chair he would have thought to find Hinata in that remained conspicuously empty. Any minute now she would burst through the door, happy that he was still alive…

"Midori told me you were awake."

Neji turned to the door, surprise in his eyes. "Hokage-sama," he said, bowing his head. The words felt like sandpaper against his throat.

Tsunade waved a hand. "So, how do you feel?"

"Fine," he answered shortly.

The Hokage gave him a pointed glance and rested one hand on his forehead, eyes closed. He could just barely make out the slight glow from her diagnostic jutsu.

The woman hissed as she took her hand away. "You'll have to stay in bed another day or so, until your nervous system recovers enough. No sense letting you out now, just for you to come back from falling down a flight of stairs."

The shinobi opened his mouth, prepared to protest his health, when he felt copper on the back of his tongue and a stinging that made him swallow convulsively.

"Your throat will take longer to heal, I'm afraid," she informed him. "So no trying to talk for at least another two days. Midori should be back with medicine for you." She smiled then. "It tastes horrible, but it helps."

Neji nodded in understanding, then closed his eyes, exhausted.

Tsunade walked to the door. When she turned around, Neji was staring at the empty chair next to the bed. "Midori tells me Hinata was here for several hours yesterday, before going home late in the afternoon," she told him.

As the Hokage walked down the hall she wondered if she'd imagined the brightening of his eyes at the news.

_Not likely, after hearing what's been going on in that house, _she thought as she walked outside. _This _was the reason the Sandaime never stuck his nose too far into Hyuuga business, and left notes that advised his successors follow his example.

_"We are trying to lead Hinata to the right decision, but backslips like this are disastrous," Fujita explained. "We cannot have them behaving in this way."_

Tsunade didn't know if she believed everything she was told by the Hyuugas, but she was certain there was more to it that was purposefully left out, such as how the heir to a noble family could find the time to sleep with _anyone _without someone finding out about it. They made Neji appear the seducer, who had not only got his cousin pregnant, but was now attempting to shirk responsibility while using the poor girl as he wanted.

"If that's true, I'll let Jiraiya have his way with me for a year," the Hokage muttered. The day Neji refused to take responsibility for his actions was the day the earth stopped spinning. So, she had part of the story, a jounin on the mend, and the fine makings of a village scandal if a word of this got out.

Now all she had to do was find Hinata.

* * *

"This is getting out of hand. You three were _supposed _to have everything under control." Himori's eyes were flat as he looked at the three women in front of them. All of them wore the same insufferable expression, as if butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. "You assured me you could handle her."

"And we are," Rumiko informed him. "Hinata is worn down. Another week and she will go where we say."

"And this madness about marrying Aburame?"

Kaiya smiled. "She will marry Jin, if we make her understand that marrying Shino is now out of the question. That we were…willing to allow it, but her recent actions made us think differently." Her expression turned mock-serious. "We must also consider Shino in all of this, and his clan. How would the Aburame respond if they knew their heir would be cuckolded the moment his back was turned?"

"This latest incident will prove to her that she has no self-control," Ai finished. "If she must have Neji, would it not be better to have a husband who understands our family, who would not look down on her for her indiscretions?"

Himori was silent.

Rumiko stood. "You always did underestimate us, Himori-san," the woman told him. "Once we've explained this to Hinata, there will be no further trouble. We leave smoothing things with the Hokage in your more than capable hands. We are sure she will be nothing more than a minor inconvenience."

The three women filed out of the room, leaving Himori alone.

The elderly Hyuuga paced, thinking over the events of the past two days. Tsunade was more than a simple inconvenience; she could prove to be the thing that made their careful planning fall apart.

There was a tap on the shoji, then Hyuuga Haru stepped inside. "It seems things are tumbling out of our control, Himori."

The older man didn't spare his advisor a glance.

"Perhaps there is a way to salvage this, without marrying. If we used this pregnancy to declare Hinata unfit to succeed her father, Hanabi could be allowed to take her place. The child could be given into her care, to raise as she sees fit… with our assistance, of course, and named as her heir."

Himori stopped his pacing. "That is unnecessary, Haru. Hinata will be married in short order, and we can put this whole sordid business behind us. She _will _marry a man of Hyuuga blood, and be made successor according to her father's wishes." He held up a hand when Haru started to speak. "Leave me," he ordered.

Himori stared at the scroll taking up a good portion of the wall, a scroll that was the very essence of what the Hyuuga stood for. More than once over the long years of his life he wondered what his ancestors would think of how he handled the clan.

In this latest scheme, he was sure they would be disappointed.

Maintaining the status quo of the family was all-important. No member of the branch family could be allowed to ascend to something as important as consort, as any husband of Hinata's would be named. Even a distant cousin, a member of the main family only by chance, was preferable. For all his considerable talent, despite being the perfect choice, Neji could be nothing more than a sire to the child.

Nothing.

_"There will be times, Himori, when you want nothing more than to set this burden down. To run away and become a beggar, a monk, anything but the head of our clan. It is at these times when you must remind yourself of what others have suffered in the name of our clan. It is then that you must know, to the depths of you, that what you are doing is for the best, even if some are hurt. Remember, the needs of many always take precedence over the needs of a few."_ His father's words rang in his ears, words spoken more than half a century ago.

He wondered what his father would think of him now.

* * *

A/N

Thank you for reading! Special red bead ice cream thanks goes out to Alchemypoetry, starrygirl, raffy, Venus Love Chain, Hyuugacest Supporter, jbramx2, Saskie, flying jade, iLychLunca, Popples, amwong88, Thundersister, imJunebiyatch, unknown, Lady of Genesis, budgiebee, juliagualia1017, ChiakiHara, and Fairia13, for your support and reviews. Luv you guys 

He he he… evil chapter. Sorry about the long time it took to update. I needed to drag myself away from Vampire Hunter D (and Constantine, and SG1, and Harry Potter, and… you get the picture) fiction and re-immerse myself in Naruto to get my muse going again. There are only two more planned chapters to this fic, or one if I squish them together for one really big chapter. I don't know, we'll see.

Anyway, thanks for reading my stuff, hope you had a good time 

Writegirl


	14. Endings

_"Hinata."_

_Hinata crawled through her mother's flower garden, laughing as petals caressed her face and hands. They were playing hide and seek, her kimono acting as makeshift camouflage in the sea of pink and white blooms. The chrysanthemums were her mother's pride and joy. Six days out of seven during the spring and summer she was among them, pruning and weeding. Others worked in the larger garden and maintained the grounds, but this plot of land was ruled by her mother._

_She came to the edge of the plot and eyed the flowering bushes across the path. Hinata could catch glimpses of the older woman through the leaves around her, smiling bright and eyes shining as she scanned the thick growth._

_"Hinata?"_

_The little girl made a break for it, hoping she could cut across the divide without being seen. She was almost there, hands teasing the leaves, when strong arms wrapped around her middle and hoisted her into the air._

_"Got you!" Miyoko shouted, swinging her daughter back and forth. She felt someone watching and turned. Hiashi was standing on the landing, pale eyes focused on his wife and daughter, taking in the grass stains and dirt smudges on both._

_Miyoko smiled, hefted her daughter under one arm and waved wildly with the other. Hinata followed suit, laughter bursting from her when her mother began turning a tight circle in the center of the path._

The Hyuuga compound was normally bustling in the early afternoon; family members and servants going about their business alone or in small groups. Today it was almost deserted, the many levels overlooking the central courtyard still and silent.

Hinata padded along a covered walkway, feet quiet on smooth cedar. She felt… clear; a girl made of fine glass, bare feet ghosting above the polished boards. It was strange, that clarity; something she'd never experienced before. Lightness swept through her, as if she could lift her arms and be carried aloft on a breeze. Her hands cradled her stomach, palms bowled, fingertips brushing against her jacket.

_Loyalty in one hand, love in the other._

The door to her father's study had always been sacrosanct. More than once she'd found herself waiting outside, eyes scanning the courtyard as minutes and hours went by while she waited for him to emerge. As a girl she imagined electricity sparking against her if she tried to slide the ornately decorated shoji open, scorching her small hands. Now she didn't even pause. The door opened without a sound.

Hiashi was sitting at his desk engrossed in the pale sheets laid out before him. He even wore his glasses, something very few people knew about and even fewer admitted to knowing. He looked tired, strained, and she felt a burst of sadness. Her father had always been a rock; one she sheltered under, but always feared would one day crush her under its own weight.

Her father looked up as the door opened, face shifting into hard lines. "Where have you been?" he demanded. "I've had half of our ANBU searching for you for over an hour."

"Jin." Confusion crumbled his features, so she tried again. "Jin, Chichue," she repeated. "I've decided to marry Jin."

Hiashi stared at his daughter. She looked calm, collected, more so than he'd ever seen her before. The giddy fear that always made it impossible for her to stand still around him was missing. Her hands were splayed over her stomach. Not nervously, but protective. "The council will be glad you've decided-."

" Neji will be responsible for my child's training."

The older Hyuuga paused, more from shock than from the interruption itself. When had Hianta ever broke in while he spoke. "I'm sure the council will consider-"

"The council will not." Hinata's hands curled closer to her middle. Her voice trembled, but gained more strength as she went on. She couldn't afford to look weak. Not here, not now. "Neji _will _be responsible for the child's training. He _will _play a role in my child's life. _He _will decide what is best in that area, Chichue." Her shoulder slumped, as if saying the words took all her strength, but she continued. "Hanabi will remain a member of the main family. If I die, she will be responsible for the child, and he will remain heir to the Clan."

"And Jin?"

The kunochi's face softened, her eyes turned inward. "I will do what is necessary to preserve the honor of our family, Chichue." She turned to leave.

Hiashi took a deep breath. "If the council does not accede to your demands?"

She didn't turn around.

* * *

"She's agreed, then?" 

Hiashi nodded. "She asked for Jin herself."

Hyuuga Himori closed his eyes briefly. "Finally, something is going right." He turned his attention back to his son. "I'll leave the announcement of the engagement to you."

If asked, the younger Hyuuga would have admitted that he'd been in the small room too many times over the past month. Too much time was spent trying to appease the people in front of him. This, he hoped, would be the last. Hinata stood behind and to the left of him, hands still folded over her abdomen, eyes on the floor. It wasn't shyness or fear that kept her from meeting the eyes of the council, of that Hiashi was certain. She was listening, and planning.

"Hinata has made demands, Chichue," Hiashi started slowly. "She wants Neji to be in charge of the child's training."

"She-"

Hiashi continued as if Haru hadn't tried to interrupt. "Hinata also insists that Hanabi remain a member of the main family."

Kaiya chuckled. "Anything else she demands, Hiashi? Perhaps that we exchange Neji for Jin on her wedding night?" A small chuckle went through the council at that.

"That won't be necessary, Kaiya-sama," Hinata's small voice cut through the laughter like a blade, severing it instantly. Nine pairs of eyes turned to her, each one surprised and searching.

It was Himori who spoke first. "Neji's role in the life of our heir-"

"Is not up for discussion."

Himori stopped, eyes nearly bulging with disbelief at being interrupted. "You do not make demands-"

"I do now." Hinata stepped around her father. "I am heir to the Hyuuga Clan by virtue of my birth and my ability. My child will be my heir, and I will decide what is right for it."

Hiashi swore he saw amusement flickering in Ai, Rumiko, and Kaiya's eyes as they watched the exchange. "Hinata is willing to listen to suggestions of the council concerning the raising of her child, but final decisions are to be hers alone." And Neji's, he was sure.

Fujita worked his mouth before asking, "And if we do not meet these… demands… of yours, Hinata-chan?"

The breath she took was slow, steady. "Then you will have no heir, and you can do with me what you will."

_That _declaration stopped everyone in the room. For the first time Hiashi sifted through the strands of his daughter's chakra. He'd felt the swirling when she first approached him, but dismissed it. Now he could feel it; jagged, destructive energy poised against her child. "Hinata."

"You-" her voice broke, and she tried again. "You will give me what I want, or I will take what you desire most from you." Desperation glittered in her eyes.

It was that desperation that caught the attention of the council. Kaiya spoke first. "There is no need to be hasty, Hinata-chan," the woman soothed. "I'm sure we can reach an agreement that suits everyone."

"An oath on your honor," the words were rushed. "On the honor of this family, that my demands will be met, or you can decide how best to explain to the Hokage what drove me to this." The unspoken threat, that _she _would tell the Hokage everything, was there.

Hiashi met his father's eyes. There were instructions there; that he stop his daughter from following through on her threat, that he get her under control, but he ignored them. They needed to learn what she was capable of, and she needed to learn her own power.

"Agreed." Rumiko kept her eyes trained on her grand-niece.

"Agreed," Fujita echoed.

Six other voices joined in, until Himori was left alone, still staring at his son and granddaughter. His mind worked furiously, trying to find a way out of the situation, until finally his lips pursed. "Agreed."

* * *

It was at times like this that Neji remembered why he hated the hospital. 

The nurses had to have been ninja, he reasoned. He was only halfway into his clothes when one of the nurses caught him, manhandled him back into bed, and hung his clothes in the closet. He was to remain in their care until the Hokage said otherwise, Nurse Midori reminded him, and they took their charge seriously. He'd barely closed his eyes since then, but someone had managed to sneak into his room and take his clothes all together, leaving him staring at a single hospital robe where his tunic and trousers should have been.

_Hinata._

He'd waited, and she still didn't appear.

He had other visitors. Both Gai and Lee came, their usual annoying behavior cut down to a bare minimum, no doubt at the nurses order. Shino appeared shortly after they left, concerned about Neji's health, and what it might mean for Hinata. He thought he saw Kakashi once, hanging around outside the window before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The official reason he was in the hospital was pneumonia. It was written quite clearly on his charts, though the nurses still changed the bandages on his curse seal every few hours. It wasn't the first time a ninja's 'illness' and treatment were two separate things. He'd never have imagined that _he _would experience it firsthand.

"I have a visitor for you, Neji," Midori poked her head through the door. "She can only stay for an hour, though."

Hinata slid into the room.

He would never have admitted to it, but relief flooded through him at the sight of her. For hours he'd considered that the council had forbidden her to visit him, that they would be forcibly kept apart. "Hinata-sama."

She lowered her eyes at his formality and settled into the chair next to his bed. "I'm getting married, Neji."

The ninja nodded once. So, she'd talked the council into marrying Shino after all. "Aburame will make-"

"To Jin," the words were whispered, her eyes focused on his hands. "Chichue will announce the marriage tomorrow." Her eyes lifted to his and she reached out, her hand resting lightly on his. "I would be happy if you would see to the training of our child, Neji. More than happy."

Bright, sharp hope flared at her words, followed swiftly by bitterness. "The council would never allow it."

A humorless smile creased her face and vanished just as quickly. "The council has already decided their heir was more important than denying me what I wanted."

_Did you ask for me? _The words were balanced on the tip of his tongue, ready to spill over and embarrass him. Of course she hadn't. She was marrying Jin, a member of the main family who escaped the curse seal only through the luck of his mother's marriage.

"I… I w-won't ask you to dishonor yourself by continuing what is between us." Her eyes were on their joined hands, her voice less sure. "We…we can be…" pale pupils shifted, searching for the words. Her fingers tightened around his, the pressure edging into pain.

Neji watched in silence. Hinata really couldn't keep her emotions under control, not for very long. He could see what she wanted, could feel it echoed in his own heart, but both knew it couldn't be, would never be.

"I will enjoy being a member of your ANBU, Hinata-sama, once I have recovered." His words were flat and emotionless.

The only response he received was her hand tightening around his.

_Fin_

* * *

A/N 

Wow. It's been… oh god, I don't even want to think about how long it's been since I updated. THANK YOU SO MUCH everyone who stuck around, encouraged, poked, and otherwise didn't give up on this story ever being finished, even when I thought it wouldn't. I know, it's a sad, slightly dissatisfying ending, but I never thought it would end happily. In fact, trying to find a happy ending for them was what kept me from finishing for so long. And this is the end, in case anyone wondered.

If someone wants to write an epilogue, feel free. While I've been batting an idea for a second part to this, involving what happens after the kid is born, I don't think I"ll write it. If someone else wants to, once again, you have my blessing. Once again THANKS FOR READING!!!!

Writegirl :)

PS: If anyone was hoping for Hinata and Shino to get together, I would suggest reading the story _Of the Sky_ by Fairia13 http:// www. fanfiction. net/ u/ 701499 (her userpage). It's wonderful, and a perfect companion to piece to this one.


End file.
